Embers of the Past
by NaturallyDark
Summary: When Julia, a starting out pokémon trainer, meets Flame, a feisty little cyndaquil, her world is slowly but surely turned on its head. Strange dreams plague them both and their friendship develops too quickly. And Julia begins to wonder...have they met somewhere before? A twist on SoulSilver and Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon 2. Note: editing in progress.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, random stranger! Thanks for stopping by to read Embers of the Past! This isn't your typical 'pokémon journey' kind of story – those things are way overdone. Once you get to the second chapter, you'll see what I mean. Read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

The night was still. The only thing that interrupted was the sound of footfalls on the damp grass and heavy breathing. She stumbled forward, fear crawling up her spine. What am I doing here? she wondered, panting. A canopy of leaves on branches obscured the stars above from view. There should have been no light in the forest. Yet a dim, green orb of light pulsated somewhere ahead of her. What was it? Why was it glowing? Why did she feel her pulse quicken at the sight of it, and why did a sense of urgency grow within her as she neared it?

Her eyes snapped open and she awoke with a jolt. She sat up in bed, clutching at her forehead. By now, she was used to it, but her heart still pounded heavily in her chest.

Stretching her arms out in front of her, Julia swung her legs over the edge of the bed, slowly rising to her feet. She rifled through her clothes-drawers in search of something to wear, finally finding a blue three-quarter sleeves top and a pair of overall-shorts. She pulled her matching blue socks up to her knees, then, tying her hair into two short, low pignite-tails, put on a white cycling hat with a blue ribbon.

This was it. She breathed in deeply, staring at her reflection in her mirror. A grin pulled at the corners of her mouth. Julia _did_ look like a pokémon trainer.

Checking her bedside clock to make sure that she was still on time, she skipped down the stairs, the memory of her dream already fading. Professor Elm, the local pokémon professor, had a starter pokémon waiting for her and two other trainers, and he had promised to hold them for them only until eight o'clock.

_I can't be delayed by even a minute!_ she decided. _I'm going to prove that I'm the most worthy teen in the world to receive a pokémon!_

Julia found that she was the only one awake in her household so far, which she was relieved at. If her mother was awake, there would be so much fuss and happy tears that Julia wouldn't find an opportunity to leave until lunchtime! And if Jordan and his dumb quagsire were awake... Arceus forbid that! The last thing Julia needed was for her pain-in-the-ass cousin and McMister the quagsire to delay her with their nonsense!

Finding a loose scrap of paper, Julia quickly scrawled out a note to her mother and left it on the table. Then, with an air of excitement, she turned around and grabbed her bag out of the closet and her newly fixed Pokégear off the counter, put on her scuffed-up white shoes, and, without a glance back, ran out the door.

The breeze that constantly swirled around New Bark town lifted her orange hair as she ran down the street, headed for the professor's lab. The town was small enough for her to make it there in less than five minutes, even after she was forced to slow down and catch her breath. The lab loomed in front of her, a large building with two floors, the upper floor being the professor's living quarters. Julia took in a deep breath, then pushed open the double doors. Inside, the air smelled clean, like a Pokémon Centre. The walls were white, and fancy machinery lined the walls, lights blinking and beeping noises echoing everywhere. Assistants dressed in white lab coats walked around with clipboards. It all felt very professional and strict. Had Julia not known the professor personally, she didn't doubt that she would have been incredibly intimidated. Luckily, professor Elm had been a family friend even before she was born, and 'intimidating' was the last adjective that she would pin on him.

The scrawny young man stood at the back of the room, bent low over a laptop, furiously typing away as Julia approached him. He mumbled to himself, but when she brightly announced, "'Morning, professor! I'm here for my pokémon!" he turned around instantly, an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Well, good morning, Julia! You're here early!" he exclaimed. "I was just finishing writing an email to my good friend, professor Oak! He said he was in town, so I just thought I'd send him a greeting! But I suppose you want your pokémon right away?"

Julia nodded excitedly at him. With a knowing smile, Elm walked over to a large, white machine and pressed a button on it. The lid rose up and away to reveal three Poké Balls. Elm lifted them out and began releasing the pokémon within them in order.

"First of all, we have the grass type pokémon, chikorita." A chikorita emerged from the red beam and squeaked up at Julia, his green eyes widening.

"Next is the fire type pokémon, cyndaquil." The small cyndaquil he released trembled and whimpered, trying to put distance between herself and Julia.

"And finally, the water type pokémon, totodile!" The totodile flexed his non-existent muscles and beamed.

Elm waved his arm and stepped back towards his computer. "Go on ahead, Julia. Take your time choosing the one that you'll get along with best. After all, you'll spend a good deal of time with it on your journey."

Julia crouched down and smiled at the three. "Hi! My name's Julia!" she introduced. "I hope that I can become really great friends with one of you!"

Chikorita bounced forward, his eyes shining. "My name's Chikorita! Can I please be your friend?" he begged.

"No, wait, pick me!" insisted Totodile, barging forward and shoving Chikorita aside. "I'll be a stronger partner! I'll definitely keep you safe!"

"Hey!" protested Chikorita, and a heated slap-fight ensued.

"Cut it out, both of you!" Julia tried to pull them apart, but they were too deeply enthralled in their little battle. In fact, they seemed to enjoy it and began using actual attacks on each other. Julia giggled at them, then glanced over at Cyndaquil. She seemed very quiet and she huddled a good distance away from the other two. When Julia finally managed to make eye contact with her, the cyndaquil held her gaze for only a moment before turning her head away and closing her eyes. Julia sighed, then looked back over at Chikorita and Totodile, who had finished their battle and were now laughing together. She stood up, putting a hand on her hip, and the two pokémon swiftly straightened and looked up at her with the most adoring eyes they could muster.

"Alright!" Julia declared. "I've chosen my pokémon!" She knelt and peered into Chikorita's eyes. "I choose you, Chikorita, as my partner!" With a happy cry, the pokémon leapt into Julia's arms and she stood again. Totodile looked downcast, but gave Chikorita a thumbs-up with a wink.

Elm walked back over from his laptop, looking satisfied with himself and with Julia.

"So, you've chosen Chikorita? The journey may be tough at first, but I am certain that, with enough perseverance, you two will form a close bond!" He handed Julia the Poké Ball that would contain Chikorita and smiled. "Best of luck, Julia!"

Julia clutched the Poké Ball tightly and set down her new pokémon to follow behind her as she walked out the doors and into her journey.

She never would have been able to guess just what awaited her.

* * *

"I'd like to order a kid's size pancake breakfast and a chocolate milkshake. Oh, and two straws, please!"

Julia sat in a window booth at Miltank's, New Bark's famous ice cream parlour and diner, Chikorita sitting opposite her. It seemed that his wide smile never faded from his face.

The waitress took down the notes then scurried off in the opposite direction. The diner was relatively empty this morning, meaning that Julia could chat with Chikorita as loudly as she wanted. And because any pokémon's way of communication was mainly body language anyways, half of their dialogue would be lost to anyone listening in.

Chikorita's nature, as it turned out, was cheerful, and he was good at attacking. He really liked cheri and watmel berries, and he was afraid of ghost types. At that point, Julia's order had arrived – the plate of pancakes, which was exceptionally large for a kid's size, was stacked five high and drizzled with chocolate and caramel syrup and topped with whipped cream. If Julia's mother saw that, she'd surely have a heart attack!

Even though both of them were voracious eaters, they both only managed to get through half of the plate of pancakes. After the waitress took it away, they kept chatting, sipping from the milkshake occasionally.

Abruptly, Chikorita stopped talking and stared out the window, his eyes narrowed. Julia looked out and spotted what he was looking at. A boy with crimson red hair slouched by, exuding an icy aura. He gripped a Poké Ball in his hand.

"That guy gives me a funny feeling," growled Chikorita. "It looks like he's up to something."

At that moment, Julia's Pokégear rang. She unclipped it from her bag strap and checked the caller ID. It was professor Elm. _Oh, no,_ Julia thought, groaning inwardly. _Did mom give him my number?_

Nevertheless, she picked up, but hardly was able to get in a 'hello' before Elm broke into hysterics.

"Oh, it's horrible! Some kid just broke into the lab and stole both of the other starter pokémon! Get over here at once!"

"Hold on, professor!" Julia blurted. "That kid – did he have red hair?" It was a crazy thought, but what if...?

"Yes! Why do you ask? Do you see him?!" The professor then began crying out random jargon, so Julia quickly hung up and tossed the Pokégear in her bag.

"C'mon, Chikorita," she told him, getting up from her seat. "I've got a hunch about that guy!"

Ignoring the waiter who yelled at her to pay for her meal, Julia and Chikorita dashed out the doors and ran up to the red-haired kid.

"Hey, you!" Julia called out. The boy turned, glowering. "Did you steal the pokémon from professor Elm's lab?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "That's a rude assumption to make of someone, kid. How old are you? Nine? Eight?"

"I'm thirteen," Julia insisted, "and if you didn't take those pokémon, then why don't we have a battle? Because you must otherwise have your own pokémon, right?" She gestured to the Poké Ball in his hand.

"You got me there. Not bad, for a little kid." He smirked, and added, "I accept your challenge!" He tossed the Poké Ball, and from it emerged the cyndaquil, who looked more terrified than ever.

"Okay, Chikorita," Julia told him, "this is our first battle. Let's take this guy out!"

Chikorita leapt in front of Julia, a determined expression replacing his usual cheerful one.

"Destroy these losers," growled the boy. Cyndaquil, still looking afraid, charged forwards with surprising speed and slashed Chikorita with her claws before Julia could even issue a command. Chikorita fell back, hurt but still able to battle.

"Use Pound!" Julia ordered, and her Pokémon rushed at Cyndaquil. However, before he could attack, Cyndaquil ran slightly past him, striking his side and taking him to the ground. He had fainted.

"No!" cried Julia, rushing towards her pokémon and cradling him in her arms. The boy tsked and returned Cyndaquil to her Poké Ball.

"What losers," he muttered, and turned to leave. Narrowing her eyes, Julia returned Chikorita to his Ball as well, then grabbed the boy's arm.

"You think I'm just gonna let you run away with those stolen pokémon?" He jerked his arm free, knocking Julia back onto the ground. She groaned, then looked around the street for help – however, it seemed that, being that it was still very early in the morning, nobody was up yet. The street was deserted, save for a few cars.

"This cyndaquil may prove useful later," the boy said with a grin, then turned and walked away.

"Hey!" protested Julia again, trying to follow him, but she was suddenly stopped by the waiter from Miltank's, who had run out to stop her.

"You didn't pay for your meal!" he yelled at her.

"But – that guy stole some pokémon!" Julia tried to tell him, but was interrupted.

"Of course he did. C'mon – pay up, kiddo!"

Unable to protest further, Julia had to finally go back in and pay for her meal. Elm called her a short while later, and Julia was forced to tell him how she failed to stop him. The professor assured her that she didn't do anything wrong, but she still felt ashamed. She lost her chance not only to save those two pokémon, but also to show Elm that she had what it took to be a good trainer.

As Julia walked away with a heavy heart, she let Chikorita out of his Poké Ball, who insisted he felt okay and that she would totally beat that guy when they next met. Though she continued to mope for a while, the sun shone above head and she reminded herself that it was indeed the first day of her journey across Johto to win all the pokémon Gym badges and, hopefully, become a master of pokémon. Gradually, her spirits rose, until she was finally running towards Route twenty-nine, Chikorita jogging along at her heels. They dashed into the tall grass, defeating wild pokémon and exploring in bushes. There was no feeling of urgency at all. The world was their playground.

However, the day continued and they finally became hungry enough to try making progress towards Cherrygrove town, the nearest town on their way. The heat of a late summer afternoon had the two drenched in sweat, but they were both completely elated.

Once they reached the town, Julia brought Chikorita to the Pokémon Centre to heal him from any scratches given to him by wild Pokémon, then to another restaurant in town. Since trainers usually travelled the region and were either too lazy or unable to make their own meals, cheap diners were built left, right, and centre for kids to eat at with their pokémon.

They proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon in Cherrygrove town. Julia did not often come here with her mom, and when she did, it was usually for a special occasion, so she felt excited to be there. Chikorita seemed to absorb her energy and mimic it, for he was equally enthralled and excited and he dashed around with her.

It became too late to leave for the next city, so when the sky darkened, they returned to the Pokémon Centre, which provided sleeping quarters for travellers. Julia slept with Chikorita next to her on the pillow, and instead of cryptic lights, her dreams were filled with visions of her and Chikorita battling trainers and legendary pokémon. She never gave a second thought to that boy or the stolen pokémon.

Not until they met again.

* * *

"Well, Chiki, it seems that you're pretty close to evolving!"

Julia crouched by her chikorita, whom she had begun calling 'Chiki' for the sake of it being easier to pronounce than his full species name and, of course, more endearing. They were training out on Route thirty-two, past Violet city. It felt hard to believe that she had only been a trainer for a week – the way that she issued commands was natural to her and their standard routine of waking up and having breakfast, training, breaking for lunch, training some more, then finally having dinner and casually hanging out the rest of the evening.

They had been in Violet city for longer than most young trainers and their pokémon. The Gym Leader, Falkner, and his flying type pokémon had proven to be too difficult to defeat yet, and even though Julia told Chiki she could catch a sentret or another pokémon who wasn't weak to flying, he refused and only wanted to train harder. He had insisted that he wanted to be the one to defeat Falkner, even if grass was weak to flying, and with his large, adoring eyes, how could she refuse him?

"Yeah, I think I can feel it!" Chiki agreed, grinning. "I'll evolve into a bayleef and become even more powerful! Then I can put Falkner and his birds in their place!"

Standing up, Julia put on her game face. "Then let's destroy the trainers around here and – "

"Destroy the trainers?" a snarky voice interrupted. "More like, make them piss themselves laughing at your stupidity."

Julia and Chiki turned to face the newcomer, who casually walked towards them, tossing a Poké Ball in the air languidly.

"Looks like we meet again, kid," he grinned. "So you didn't run home crying to your mommy. You get points for that, at least." The boy held out his Poké Ball and challenged, "Now, let's see if you learned from our previous encounter. I challenge you to a battle – one on one; your chikorita versus my cyndaquil."

Julia clenched her fist. She knew that it was foolish, but she couldn't back down from a challenge from this guy.

"You're on!" she replied, then called out, "Go, Chiki!" Chiki, looking doubtful, nevertheless stalked forwards, growling menaces at the boy. He raised his eyebrows mockingly.

"Chiki? Aw, what a cute nickname. Well, two can play at that game." He threw the Poké Ball, then said in the most offensive tone he seemed to be capable of, "Go, Flame!"

The cyndaquil emerged from the Poké Ball, and the moment Julia laid her eyes upon her, guilt surged through her like a Waterfall attack. The small pokémon no longer looked nervous – in fact, she no longer looked, well, anything. Her eyes were dull, and she stumbled forward wearily, nearly falling over. Scratches and wounds, some still fresh, covered what little there was of her body.

Julia stepped forward in horror, and Chiki stood motionless, shocked.

"Wha – what did you do to her?!" she shrieked.

"I tried to train her," explained the boy drolly, "and she couldn't take even a little bit of pain, it seems. As if it really matters. She can still burn 'Chiki's' ass."

Julia's voice became low and furious as she asked, "Did you do this to Totodile, too?"

"Totodile was stronger, tougher. He didn't let himself get hurt, not like Cyndaquil."

Cyndaquil tottered towards her opponent, her eyes narrowing as she began to focus. Julia shook her head and yelled, "Chiki! Please, just knock her out! Use any attacks that aren't grass type!"

Chiki needed no further encouragement and pelted forwards, slamming into Cyndaquil with all his might. Flames suddenly erupted below him; the force of Cyndaquil's unexpected counterattack sent him hurtling into a nearby bush. Julia wanted to cry out, but Chiki leapt from the bush in an instant, not yet ready to give up. Cyndaquil tensed, her entire back covered in blazes. Chiki approached slowly, as if trying to figure out how to attack her.

Her trainer looked annoyed and finally barked, "Cyndaquil, use Flame Wheel!" Cyndaquil cringed when he spoke, her eyes widening in apparent fear and the flames on her back spurting higher momentarily, then rolled forward, encircling her body in fire. Chiki dodged, then retaliated with a well-timed Pound. She was knocked off her course, but rolled around and aimed in his general direction, disoriented by fear and fatigue. And when Chiki struck with another Pound, one of his only non-weak attacks he knew against fire, Julia suddenly felt like she was the one disoriented. Seeing Cyndaquil in her weakened state and constantly getting hit with attacks made Julia want to cheer her on.

_No_, Julia gritted her teeth while thinking, _you need to cheer on Chiki. He's your pokémon, and that cyndaquil needs to be knocked out or she might badly hurt herself!_

"Hang in there, Chiki!" she finally called out. She needed to release her tension. Her fingernails dug into her palms so deeply that she felt a throbbing pain in her hands.

Cyndaquil plopped onto the ground at last, unable to work up the energy to roll at Chiki anymore. Her flames dwindled and her eyes closed. Chiki saw his opportunity and leapt up above her, smashing down with a critical Pound.

A squeak escaped Cyndaquil's mouth before she stopped moving.

Julia was mesmerized, relief washing over her. Cyndaquil was knocked out. The boy clacked his tongue in blatant disapproval.

"Weak." He took her back into her Poké Ball and shook his head. "But she'll learn to be strong and stand on her own."

"Return, Chiki," Julia sighed, returning Chiki to his Poké Ball, "and take a good, long rest." Then, seeing that the boy had started to walk away, she yelled after him, "You think that's what pokémon battling is about? Who's stronger?" He glanced back with mild interest.

"Well, you're wrong! It's about loving your pokémon! The bond between the two of you! And having your pokémon just get beat up – you call that training? That's just the cruelest thing you could do to anyone!"

On that last sentence, the boy's expression went from slight boredom to seething with hatred. He threw Cyndaquil's Poké Ball at Julia, which smacked her in the head, then, before she could even register what was happening, he closed the distance between them and shoved Julia onto the ground, making her drop Chiki's Poké Ball. He knelt down and, grabbing the front of her shirt, pulled her forwards so that he could leer straight into her eyes.

"Fuck you," he snarled. "You don't have a fucking clue what I've been through. Paying attention to someone isn't cruel; being ignored, never talked to, never paid attention to, never being cared for – that's cruel." He shoved her away in disgust and picked up his Poké Ball. "You have no fucking _clue_!"

He rifled through his pants pocket until he found another Poké Ball, a Great Ball, and let out a fearow. He climbed onto its back, growled a command at it, then flew it away. Julia watched, stunned speechless, until they were a tiny black speck against the darkening orange sky. Eventually, she slowly stood up, aware of a pulsating pain radiating up her spine from her tailbone, and picked up the Poké Ball. Never in her life had anyone ever sworn at her. Well, her mom had once, but that was a small, accidental curse when Julia had dropped a plate. In her peaceful town that she seldom saw outside of, everyone knew each other. Everyone was kind to each other and very respectful.

But this boy... What kind of hatred had he felt to feel it was acceptable to abuse his own pokémon? Julia hoped to never see him again.

She glanced at her Poké Ball, sighing. Chiki had been hurt early in the battle; she'd better go heal him.

* * *

Violet city gleamed in the evening with vivid shades of purple as Julia walked over to the Pokémon Centre. While she did have potions that she could use, she only wanted to use them when they were travelling a route, where they didn't have the convenience of a Centre nearby.

The nurse, as usual, took Julia's Poké Ball from her, set it on her machine for a few seconds, and repeated her odd phrase of, "We hope to see you again soon!" That disturbed Julia a little bit. The nurse wanted to see her back to heal her pokémon from injuries? Did she _want_ Julia's pokémon to get hurt?

She had walked all the way out onto Route thirty-two when she remembered Chiki. She pulled out the Poké Ball and tossed it, a small smile coming to her face as the red beam emitted from the ball and shaped into a pokémon. She always loved seeing Chiki's broad, infallible grin.

But that smile never appeared. The pokémon that cowered in front of her was not Chiki. It was Cyndaquil.

For a moment, her mouth hung open and she was unable to speak. Her mind raced. _What is Cyndaquil doing here? What happened to Chiki?!_ Then it hit her. When that boy threw his Poké Ball at Julia and shoved her, she had dropped hers, and so, when he had gone to grab his Poké Ball, he must have taken Chiki's instead of Cyndaquil's, leaving Julia with...

Her silence was broken by Cyndaquil, who looked up and whispered in a scratchy squeak, "I'm sorry." Julia stared at her.

"What? What do you mean?"

Cyndaquil took a small, hurried step away. "I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough to be useful to anyone." She began to tremble, her tiny paws clenched into fists. "I'll never be good enough to serve you!"

Had Cyndaquil used Confusion? Julia felt completely thrown off and managed only to make a "Huh?" noise at her.

"That's what happened, right? He traded me for Chiki because he's stronger, right?"

Julia hurriedly put the pieces together in her mind and, finally realizing what Cyndaquil thought had happened, said, "N-no! That's not it! After the battle, we dropped our Poké Balls and you and Chiki accidentally got switched. That's all!"

"So, then..." Cyndaquil lowered her head. "You're just going to go get Chiki back. Sorry. I didn't really think... Nobody like you would really trade their best friend for just another weakling!" All of a sudden, she broke down in tears, shaking. Once again, words could not even catch in Julia's throat for her to choke on. She had no idea what to say, but she slowly came down to her knees and put her arms around Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil squeaked in protest and tried to wiggle free, but Julia just pulled her in closer. The pokémon was traumatized by that boy. How did he manage to break her spirits enough to make her honestly believe she was weak?

"I'm not going to let that boy take you back," Julia found herself promising. "I'm going to save Chiki, too, but I'll protect you."

Cyndaquil pulled away enough long enough to respond, "Why? I'm not worth protecting." The answer put itself into Julia's mouth.

"Because we're friends."

Cyndaquil stared and repeated slowly, "Friends? The two of us?"

How could Julia have said that? She had only just met Cyndaquil, let alone made friends with her. So why did she feel an odd sense of familiarity, like she did know her?

"Yeah, we'll be friends, okay, Cyndaquil?" Julia smiled at her. She couldn't go back on her words now, and Arceus knew she wanted to be friends with Cyndaquil and protect her from that boy, whatever his name was.

Cyndaquil nodded slowly, then dropped back onto the ground from Julia's hug. She fidgeted, not knowing what to do next.

"My name is Julia," Julia introduced, extending a hand.

Cyndaquil swallowed, as if bracing herself, then replied, "My name is...is Flame. Nice to meet you, Julia." She took Julia's hand and shook it meekly, as if she felt belittled by its size.

"Flame, huh?" Julia translated and a vague memory of the boy using that name when he called her into battle returned. Odd. Nicknames were usually given as a sort of endearment, and if the trainer was not fond of their pokémon, an offensive nickname would be more common, like the ever-hilarious 'Butthead'. But Flame was a nice name. Maybe the boy actually did like her and he just thought that insults were complimentary?

"So, then, are you hungry, Flame?" Julia asked, standing up. At Flame's cautious nod, she waved her arm in a beckon and told her, "Follow me. I know a really great place to eat in town!"

Julia kept a slow pace for Flame to follow her at, checking back over her shoulder every once in a while to make sure that she didn't fall behind. They didn't talk much, and the neutral mood slipped into an awkward one. In all honesty, Julia didn't know what to think about Flame. Did she really like her, or was she only being nice because she stupidly said that they were friends? As rude as she thought that was, she realized, to her dismay, that that was the most likely case. Julia, if given the choice, would trade Flame back for Chiki and his happy attitude. Chiki, who always believed in himself and thought that Julia was the best friend anyone could ever have. Flame seemed quiet and repressed.

They came to the diner, named, 'The Hungry Clauncher.' It was busy, but not so busy that the two had to wait for seats. Granted, they did have to sit near the corner with all the televisions for sports-hungry men, but the food there was so good that really, Julia didn't care. Flame sat on the table, being a good deal smaller than Chiki was – small for her species, even. She was quiet as Julia read out some of the menu items, just nodding or shaking her head from time to time. Finally, Julia just ordered the pasta with combusken nuggets. It was what she wanted and Flame didn't seem to care either way.

After another few minutes of silence, Julia decided to make some conversation.

"So, Flame, have you ever eaten here before?"

"Erm, no," she replied, looking away slightly. "Actually, I've never eaten human food, either. Just those little pokémon kibbles. They don't taste very good, though. How does human food taste?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Julia winked. "What do you like to do?"

"Well..." Flame looked up, pondering. "Battle, I guess. That's all I get to do ever."

Julia frowned. Of course. Considering the nature of her trainer, Julia supposed that Flame hadn't been given much leisure time. That was a foolish question to ask.

"But if you mean before, too," Flame unexpectedly continued, "then I like exploring."

That surprised Julia. "Exploring?"

Flame's eyes shone. "Yeah, exploring! When we were all friends – Totodile, Chikorita, and I – we'd get to go outside and run around these mazes in the forest. At the end of the maze was a treasure." Her eyes glinted. "I was always the fastest to finding the treasure, and Totodile didn't like that, so then every time we got to play, I had to avoid him or he'd mow me down with Water Gun. I had to always be faster than him and if I saw him, I'd headbutt him really quickly to shock him and then run away!" She sat back on her haunches, beaming. "It was everyone for themselves!" She looked up at Julia and added, "What about you? Do you like exploring?"

Julia, startled by Flame's sudden talkativeness, thought about it and replied, "A bit, I guess. On every route, I'd look around for dropped items and rare pokémon. I guess you could call that exploring. But if I were a wild pokémon..." She grinned. "Then I'd probably have more time to do that. I don't have a lot of patience for looking for treasure. I wouldn't give up, but I just don't ever have enough time to even start a project like that." Cocking her head sheepishly, Julia sighed, "That's why it sucks to be a human. So, what – "

"What pokémon would you be?" Flame interrupted, her eyes gleaming, before realizing that she had cut Julia off. "Sorry, I got a little too excited," she apologized, "but it's just that you're easy to talk to. Noah only ever let me out of my Poké Ball to battle."

"Your trainer's name was Noah?" Julia asked, frowning. Finally, she knew that guy's name. Somehow, that made her like him even less.

"Something like that, yeah," Flame nodded, seeming to recede a little.

She was quiet again until Julia finally replied, "Well, if I were a Pokémon, I'd be...well, not a ground or water type, that's for certain." Jordan's quagsire had effectively caused her to hate those two types.

"Maybe I'd be...a floette! Y'know, 'cause I'm so cute and unique!"

"The evolution of those little flabébé things, right?" Flame frowned thoughtfully. "But...I think you remind me more of a pikachu." Julia almost laughed, but Flame looked so serious. "You're pretty hasty, and you really like to talk..."

"You're the one that likes to talk, Flame!" Julia remarked. "Look, our food's here!"

The waiter set down the plate of pasta, which was sprinkled with cheese and some fancy-looking herbs. Flame sniffed it curiously, then grabbed a noodle, nibbling on it briefly before slurping it up. She directed her bright red eyes at Julia and grinned.

"This is really tasty! What's it called?"

"This is pasta," Julia explained, "and to eat it, you roll some strands up on a fork like this, see?" She demonstrated rolling up the noodles and took a bite. Flame watched, then shrugged.

"I like it this way better!" she insisted, then sucked up another noodle. Giggling at her, Julia proceeded to explain the meat, praying that cyndaquils were supposed to eat meat. Luckily, it seemed that that was the case, as Flame devoured most of it immediately, leaving only a few small chunks for Julia. After finishing their meal, their chat was revived.

"Hey, Flame, could you tell me what your tr – I mean, Noah, was like?"

Flame closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, he was really strict. He wasn't really mean or anything; he just really wanted us to be strong. When he trained us, he would find three or four weaker pokémon, and have us battle them. Totodile was really good at that..." She frowned. "...but I was only ever able to fight pokémon one at a time. So while I attacked one, the other three attacked me at once." Her eyes now stayed closed as she continued meekly. "If I could knock them each out right away, maybe it could have worked, but it took lots of hits to knock even one of them out, and sometimes I got paralyzed from mareeps. I wish I could be stronger."

"Hey, don't say that!" Julia insisted. "You are strong! A week ago, you totally beat Chiki! And even though you were really tired and hurt today, you still managed to keep fighting!"

Flame opened her eyes and shook her head. "You make me sound like I'm a hero or something. I wasn't tired or hurt – the scratches couldn't all be healed because Noah only used potions instead of going to a Pokémon Centre, and I just didn't want to battle again. I was trying my hardest, but even then, I couldn't beat a grass type that was weaker than me." She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm a total failure."

"No, you're not! You did your best, and that's all that counts!" Julia stood up in her seat and grinned down at Flame. "We'll train together and you'll become the strongest ever! I promise, Flame."

"Really?" asked the cyndaquil. "Th...thank you, Julia!" She leapt up to her feet. "I promise, too! I promise that I'll do my best!"

Julia counted out the money needed to pay for their meal and set it on top of the bill. "It's settled, then. We'll be strong together!" It was a really cheesy thing to say, but Julia felt energy surging through her and a certain excitement. While Flame had seemed timid at first, maybe it was just that she had to warm up to a person first.

They left the diner together, Flame following closely behind, and headed over to the Pokémon Centre. Julia returned to the room she had been staying at and after she closed the door behind them, she undressed, much to Flame's shock ("Wha – ?! You're taking off your clothes, right in front of me?!"), and got into her pyjamas.

"You can come sleep with me, if you'd like, Flame," Julia told her, climbing into bed. Flame, still very red-faced from that experience, just nodded and hopped up next to Julia. She burrowed under the covers before sticking just her head out, mimicking Julia, who quietly giggled at her.

Julia began to fall asleep, but something odd suddenly hit her. That strange feeling before...when she had told Flame that they were friends... Now that feeling came back to her, and she just couldn't shake it off. Being here, next to Flame like this, struck a chord somewhere within her mind. Chiki had never given her this feeling.

She glanced over at Flame, who was already fast asleep. Had they...met somewhere before? That couldn't be. Julia had no memory of ever having seen Flame before, and Flame would have spoken up if she had recognized Julia, right?

Trying to clear her head of these thoughts, another idea intruded in Julia's mind. Was she Flame's trainer now, or would she still give her back to Noah for Chiki? That was too hard to think about right now. Julia squeezed her eyes shut tightly, then relaxed them. She let her mind wander as she finally nodded off.


	2. Chapter 2

A storm raged, wind howling furiously and lightning crashing. The sea was whipped into tall, powerful waves, foam frothing at each cap.

"Hold on!" a voice cried. "We're almost there!"

Thunder boomed as another voice cried, "I can't! I'm slipping!"

"Just a little bit longer! You can do it! Just...hold on – !"

A bolt of energy crashed and there was a scream.

"Aaaiiiii!"

Then there was silence, save for the roars of the turbulent storm.

* * *

The pokémon looked up at the tent shaped like a wigglytuff and the torches blazing against the evening sky. His fists clenched.

_I can do this! _he encouraged himself, then stepped forward onto the grate before him.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" a voice from below called out.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" called out another voice.

"Gah!" yelped the pokémon, and rushed back, shaking. A moment later, he sighed.

"Guess I couldn't bring myself to do it, after all," he murmured, relieved and yet crestfallen. He turned away and plodded back in the direction he had come. He made his way to the beach, and stared out at the reddened waves. Groups of krabbies had begun to crawl up onto jutting rocks, positioning themselves towards the open sea. Then, one by one, they began to blow bubbles from their mouths. The bubbles danced along the sky, some catching the sun's rays and glistening like crystals. Soon, the air was filled with bubbles.

The pokémon sighed, the sight of the bubbles soothing him. Every evening, the krabbies came out to blow bubbles, creating a beautiful and tranquil scene.

He continued walking along the shoreline, then noticed something out of the ordinary. A shape lay on the beach, unmoving. He gasped and hurried over. It was a pikachu, laying completely knocked out.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" he exclaimed, shaking the pokémon's shoulders. "Wake up!"

Slowly, the pikachu's eyes opened, and she looked blearily up at him.

"Where...am I?" she asked weakly, struggling to sit up. The pokémon helped her, pulling her up to her feet. As her vision focussed, she tried to make out his outline. "Who are you?"

"You're just outside of Treasure Town," the pokémon told her. "What happened? You were totally zonked out." He frowned and added, "I haven't seen a pikachu in a while. Are you new here?"

She leapt in shock and asked, "A-a pikachu? I'm not a pikachu, I'm a human!" She then noticed her own forked yellow tail and yellow paws. "Wha – ?! How is this possible? I swear, I'm a human! Or at least...was a human," she corrected, bewildered.

"A human, huh?" The pokémon frowned. "I've heard of those, but aren't they just legends? You might have hit your head. Are you sure you were a human?"

"Yes, I'm positive," the pikachu insisted, but she frowned. "That's all I remember, though..."

"Do you remember your name, at least?" the other pokémon asked. Thinking hard, the pikachu nodded.

"Yeah...my name...my name is Julia."

The other pokémon began to come into focus as a cyndaquil and he smiled. "My name is Flame. Nice to meet you, Julia!"


	3. Chapter 3

When the dreams that Julia had had every night for as long as she could remember stopped, she thought it was for good. Tonight, however, they returned with a vengeance. She wandered through a dark cave with red walls, and blistering heat surrounded her on all sides. Her face, back, chest, and underarms were drenched with sweat as she tried to make her way around. All she knew was that whatever she had been searching for in the forest, and the other caves that she had dreamt of before, she had to find now. It was too difficult for her baked mind to think about anything else.

_Whatever it is I'm looking for...I have to find!_ she thought, her heart pounding in her chest. That odd sense of urgency came over her and threatened to drown her. She began to stumble; the heat was too much for her and she was close to fainting.

But there, just up ahead, was a blindingly bright light. There it was! Just outside the cave! She reached out her arm, desperate for salvation.

Her eyes opened.

Julia panted, her eyes focussing on nothing. It was dark, and she was still in the Pokémon Centre bed. Even still, the sheets and her bedclothes felt hot and sticky. The culprit was the cyndaquil nestled tightly against her chest, still sleeping soundly. The realization of that brought a quiet groan to Julia's lips. Of course Flame was going to heat up the area. She was, after all, a fire type. Chiki hadn't been any problem, though.

The thought of Chiki and laying drenched there suddenly brought an awful thought to Julia's mind. There was a good chance that yesterday had been her last day with him. It hit her like a wrecking ball. No more Chiki.

Julia closed her eyes, trying not to cry. Damn Noah! Had he not gotten overemotional when Julia yelled at him, Chiki would have still been with her. What did he know about how to treat others, anyways? He was just an awful, brain-damaged idiot!

After taking many slow, deep breaths, the next problem made itself known when Flame snuggled into Julia's breast, making her tense at the slight pain. She resisted the urge to just shove Flame off of her and onto the ground, and instead wiggled around a bit, trying to make Flame loosen her grip. Her action had the opposite effect; the cyndaquil just squeaked in her sleep and used the tips of her claws to hold on better. Julia winced and held perfectly still until Flame eventually loosened her grip again. After that, she took in another deep breath and closed her eyes. Who cared if she was hot and pained, anyways? Flame was just an adorable ball of fur whose little heart would be broken if she were pushed away. Forcing these mushy, cutesy thoughts upon herself, Julia willed herself to fall asleep again.

* * *

Inevitably, Flame reported upon having the best sleep when morning arrived while it took all of Julia's will to stretch and smile back. She was aching all over and every crevasse of her body felt sticky and gross. Her first aid to this problem was a long, hot shower in her cramped bathroom, using lots and lots of soap. After that, she would have told Flame that from now on, she had to sleep above the covers had Flame not thanked her for letting them sleep together and adding that Julia was the nicest person in the world. It was almost as if Flame knew that if she didn't act incredibly endearing, she would lose her 'sleeping-under-the-bedcovers' privileges. _Clever little thing,_ Julia lamented, _she knows I can't resist her charms._

Just yesterday, Flame had seemed like a meek little chicken, but her true colours were shining through now. She was really a subtle manipulator! Or something along those lines.

Julia dressed herself in her day clothes, put her sweat-soaked pyjamas into a plastic garbage bag before daring to cram them into her bag, and set out again. She was glad to be out of that Pokémon Centre room, and planned on staying out. Today, she would finally defeat Falkner so that they could leave Violet city at last! Her pace was so quick that Flame had to dash on all fours to keep up, which was difficult considering that her body was made for walking upright.

Still, she kept relatively close all the way to the Gym. Julia had stopped in front of the doors to wait for her new pokémon, feeling a pang that it wouldn't be Chiki that she won her first badge with. Flame opened her eyes widely to stare up at the building.

"What is this? What are we doing?" she asked anxiously, giving Julia a curious look.

"This is a Pokémon Gym," Julia explained, gesturing with her hand. "Here, you test your strength by going up against a very tough trainer, called a Gym Leader. This Gym Leader uses flying type pokémon, so I had trouble beating him with Chiki." She grinned at Flame. "But I'm sure that together, the two of us will have no trouble beating him at all!"

Flame winced noticeably, but still went in the door that Julia held open for her. Inside, it was dim, with only a few lights on the ceiling, and quiet, too. No people talking, no fights breaking out, not even so much as the rustle of wings. The Gym was, in fact, nearly completely deserted. The only person there besides Flame and Julia was a black-haired man, who stood by the two Gym pillars idly. When he noticed them, he waved and called out to them cheerfully.

"Hey! You're a Gym challenger, right? I'm sorry to say that Falkner is out for the afternoon. He'll be back in the evening, so you won't be able to challenge him 'til then."

Julia sighed. _How ironic. The one time I actually feel ready, he isn't even here!_

"Well, thanks anyways," Julia told him and turned to leave.

Out of the blue, he added, "If you want to battle, I suggest heading over to the Sprout Tower. There are many sages there who train with their bellsprouts."

Julia waved a hand at him over her shoulder, but considered the idea. Bellsprouts, being grass type pokémon, should be no problem for Flame. It would be very good training for her.

Flame glanced nervously up at her trainer when they had left. "Erm, are we going to go to that Tower place that guy mentioned?"

"I thought you said you liked battling, Flame," Julia said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, but I wish I didn't have to be battling all on my own." Flame lowered her head. "It makes me think that humans just get a kick out of seeing their pokémon fight each other to near-death!"

Julia didn't know how to respond to that out-of-the-blue comment. In reality, Flame's statement held some truth. There had been many times when Julia had questioned herself and wondered if she really wanted to be a trainer. Jordan called her a moron for even thinking like that.

"Humans don't battle, but if you ever were to get into serious trouble, I'd help you out," Julia finally replied, wishing that she could tell Flame that she was wrong.

Flame just shrugged, looking morose. Not another word was exchanged between the two of them as they walked to the Sprout Tower.

The tower was tall and looked old, its purple eaves a faded colour and the brown paint peeling off. Inside, the air was colder and musty. Visitors stood around a thick, swaying pole that went up through the ceiling and beyond. Julia neared the tour guide enough to catch his blurb about the pole. It was said to have been a giant bellsprout that eventually became the pole, which helped the tower stand through earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Julia spotted a ladder near the pole, next to which a sage dressed in violet robes stood. She neared it, about to ask if it led to the trainers higher in the tower, but he held up a hand before she could even open her mouth.

"If you wish to challenge the Elder, you must first prove that you are capable of battle." He held out a Poké Ball, eyeing Julia questioningly. She looked down at Flame, who gritted her teeth and stepped forward, eyes on the sage. The sage seemed to take that as an answer, and tossed his Poké Ball in the air. And, just like the man in the Gym had said, his first pokémon was a bellsprout.

Flame waited patiently for instruction, so Julia told her, "Just use any fire type moves, Flame!" The cyndaquil turned her head around to stare at Julia, her eyes wide.

"I just use...whatever I want?!" she sputtered. Julia was taken aback by this response. Didn't Flame want to choose her own attacks?

But Flame turned around and shot an Ember at the bellsprout, knocking it out immediately. The sage wasted no time in whipping out his next Poké Ball, sending out a second bellsprout. Flame didn't wait for the sage to issue an attack, and quickly finished it off as well. The third bellsprout had hardly left it Poké Ball before being completely destroyed. Flame turned to Julia in glee, beaming widely. Julia grinned back at her.

The sage looked suspicious of the two, but gestured to the ladder. "You may proceed," he spoke, "and hopefully, by the end of your exploration, a bond may form between you two."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Flame exclaimed, but he either did not understand her or chose to ignore her, for he simply stepped aside and did not speak. Before Julia climbed the ladder up, she stole a glance back at the tourists. The expressions they gave her were those someone who killed a baby would receive. Confused, she climbed up after Flame, helping her pokémon to grab each next rung.

Once they were both up on the next floor, Flame squeaked happily and beamed at Julia.

"Look at all those walls!" she cried out, pointing at wooden barriers set up all over the place. "We're in a maze!"

"It seems that you're right," Julia agreed, scanning the floor. By the looks of it, the maze seemed to be set up throughout the whole tower. Some ladders going up or down were surrounded by barriers that one could only get past by coming down a ladder from the floor above. It faintly reminded her of the maze in the Gym, but this one was far more complex.

"I'll race you to the end!" Flame challenged, then took off like a bolt.

"Flame, wait!" Julia called out, but Flame had already disappeared behind a corner. Groaning, Julia ran after her, trying to figure out where her pokémon had gone. Before long, she came across Flame, who had been stopped by one of the sages. The sage looked less than impressed, and wordlessly started the battle. Again, he had only three bellsprouts, and again, Julia's simple command to Flame of using only fire type moves stunned him. Did all trainers really dictate every single move to use to their pokémon? She had attempted to do that a few times with Chiki, but he only ended up getting confused, especially when once, Julia wanted him to use Vine Whip on a trainer's weedle.

After the battle, the sage gave Julia a few dollars and a disapproving look. Flame scowled at him and muttered to Julia, "That guy's just mad that we beat him." Even though she said it very firmly, she looked doubtful.

Flame began to run ahead, but Julia said, "Hey, Flame, can we stick together instead of splitting up like before?" Flame frowned, but nodded.

"As long as I can lead us, 'kay?" And with that, she set off, Julia following her for a change. This time, however, she became lost. She whipped her head around, re-followed her scent, and retraced her steps to the beginning before setting off and failing to find her way again.

"May I lead?" Julia asked. "I think I might be able to find the way." While the maze was more complicated than the Gym puzzle, it was still easy enough.

But Flame stubbornly shook her head. "No, I can do this! I'm really good at these! You'll just get us more lost!"

"Trust me, Flame," Julia insisted, kneeling to look her in the eye. "I can get us through here." Flame looked doubtful, then sighed.

"Fine, then. You go first." She looked defeated, so Julia affirmed, "I know that you can do it. I just want to show you that I can, too." Within a minute of Julia's careful leading, they had made it to the ladder that led to the next floor up. Flame sighed again, then smiled at her trainer.

"Okay, I guess you're pretty good at leading, too," she admitted, "not that I ever doubted you or anything."

Overlooking Flame's obvious fib, Julia help Flame up the ladder and followed up after. On this floor, there was a straight path to the Elder sage, who sat cross-legged at the back of the room, meditating. Julia cocked her head sideways. There was no puzzle up here. So what was up with all of the inaccessible ladders on the other floor?

Of course, that only made things much easier, so Julia casually walked forward with Flame by her side. Three sages stood before her, all holding one Poké Ball each. The middle sage stepped towards Julia.

"You must battle all three of us at once," he informed her. Julia glanced at Flame, whose expression she could not determine. Flame just had a hard look on her face.

The three monks then stepped back and released their pokémon, all of which were, unsurprisingly, bellsprouts. Flame came forward, facing her opponents.

"Flame, use your fire type attacks!" The sages' shocked expressions Julia already had anticipated, but when Flame mowed down two of the bellsprouts that had stood too close to each other, the response of the third sage was immediate.

"Bellsprout, Razor Leaf!" he called out, and his bellsprout shot several grassy strands at Flame, who didn't have time to dodge. The attack hardly pushed her back, however, and she ignited the flames on her back and leapt into a Flame Wheel attack. She easily struck the bellsprout and it fainted instantly. The sage looked furious, but he took Bellsprout back into its Poké Ball without hesitation. The three sages came forward and handed Julia some prize money, but none of them looked pleased with their battle.

Julia stuffed the money into her pocket, then beckoned to Flame. Flame looked odd, though; she trembled a little and her eyes were tightly shut.

"Flame, are you okay?" Julia asked her. Flame nodded at her, but she still looked like she was a bit pained. "Are you sure?" she repeated in concern.

"I'm fine, Julia!" Flame's voice was suddenly cheery and she made a visible effort to stop trembling. Although Julia was nowhere near convinced, Flame to be putting in so much effort that she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe her.

They walked around the central pole that came up in the middle of the floor and came up to the elder sage. He grunted, then opened his eyes and stood.

"My name is Li," he said in a soft, raspy voice. "What are the names of my challengers who hardly speak to each other during battle?"

Julia ducked her head in slight embarrassment and was about to introduce herself when Flame suddenly piped up, "I'm Flame, and this is Julia! And – oops!" She seemed to realize in the middle of speaking that the trainer is supposed to be the one to speak. However, the elder chuckled.

"So, Flame and Julia, is it?" He looked to Julia for affirmation that he had translated correctly, so she nodded. "Very well. I will enjoy seeing how the two of you fare against me and my friends." He tossed a Poké Ball and a bellsprout emerged. Julia took a few steps back to make room for the battle and Flame copied her.

"Flame, use Ember!" Julia told her. Even though she commanded an attack and not just for her to use fire type attacks, Flame instantly did as told, blasting burning hot embers from her back at the bellsprout. The weak attack was still enough to knock it out in one hit. Li knelt down and whispered, "You have done your best, dear Bellsprout." Then he retracted the pokémon, slowly standing again. His small action seemed to light a small fire within Julia's chest. This sage was very different from the others. His pokémon were not tools, but friends. Perhaps this battle would be more difficult.

He now let out his next pokémon, another bellsprout. Instead of attacking right away, Flame stood ready where she was, awaiting her next command.

"Use Flame Wheel!" Julia suggested, and Flame curled up into a fiery ball, striking her opponent fast and hard. As with his other bellsprout, the elder whispered words of thanks to his pokémon before putting it back into its Poké Ball. Flame stood halfway between the two trainers, then glanced back at Julia. Was it over already?

A brown feather floated down above Flame, and Julia's eyes widened. She didn't have time to look up. She just leapt forwards, towards her pokémon, a cry escaping her lips. A second later, a furiously sharp point slammed into Julia's shoulder, knocking her sideways. She crashed to the ground beside Flame, who had hardly even been able to register what was happening. The hoothoot that had struck Julia now flew up, unsure of what to do. Pain surged through Julia's body and she curled up into a ball, trying to grit her teeth against the pain. Flame's eyes filled with tears and she ran to Julia's side.

"Julia!" she screeched, tears rushing down her face. "Why would you do that?! Oh, please be okay!" She grabbed Julia's hand with both paws, trembling again. Julia panted, whimpering, but smiled up at Flame.

"I...I'm fine, Flame. Don't worry about me. Are you...okay, though?"

"Of course I am!" she wailed. "You're the one who got hit by that attack, you dummy!" She nuzzled her harder and put her forehead against Julia's cheek, shaking.

Julia put her hands around Flame's tiny body and, with a little difficulty, managed to sit up. "I told you, I'm fine," she whispered to Flame, stroking her pokémon's back. Glancing to the side, she spotted Elder Li walking towards them with a small smile.

"Although many trainers see Hoothoot coming in for an attack, few are able to warn their pokémon in time. Even fewer, however, actually shield their pokémon from the hit!" He chuckled again. "Though I thought at first that the two of you had not formed a bond, I now see that not only have you a bond, but a very strong one that could only come from a long time of being friends with one another."

Julia blushed and quickly replied, "Actually, we only really met yesterday. We don't even know each other that well yet!"

A thoughtful expression came to Li's face. "Is that so? How very unusual..." He closed his eyes, then half-opened them. "However, the bond does exist. Somehow, you two have been able to become close in less than two days..."

He was interrupted by a sudden glow emanating from Flame's body. Flame clenched her teeth, trying to push it back, but Julia realized what was happening.

"Flame, you're evolving!"

Flame looked at her with an oddly afraid look in her eyes. "Is...that okay?" she asked, her voice trembling as much as her body was.

"Of course!" Julia exclaimed. Flame stared deep into Julia's eyes, then relaxed. She grew brighter and brighter until Julia had to squint at her. At the same time, Flame grew larger. Her limbs and torso became longer, and her head became more compact. Julia felt her hind paws touch her leg and Flame put her weight onto them to steady herself. When the light faded, Flame opened her large, red eyes and stared forwards in shock. She was no longer a cyndaquil, but a quilava.

She looked down at herself, inspecting her lithe new body. Flame was now taller than Julia's torso.

"I had noticed as you walked in that you seemed to be holding something back," Li spoke up, "and now your stress has been released."

Flame nodded, then looked at Julia pleadingly. "Julia...am I still cute?" she whimpered, her eyes threatening tears. Julia laughed at the question and hugged her, ignoring the sharp bite of pain in her shoulder.

"Is that all you were concerned about? Of course you are! You'll always be the most adorable being ever!"

"Thank you!" Flame cried out, now laughing as well. Even Li lent a chuckle.

Julia set Flame down then, grabbing a wooden wall for support, rose to her feet again. Flame also stood on her hind legs, and tried taking a shaky step forwards. She was quite dismayed that her body was built for walking on all fours, but continued to attempt it on just her back paws.

"I admit defeat, Julia and Flame," the elder said, "and I believe that you are more than ready to take on Falkner at the pokémon Gym." Julia smiled and nodded, then put a hand onto her shoulder. Although the spot hurt, there was no wetness to indicate that she was bleeding. That was a huge relief.

"Thank you, elderly," Julia said, meaning to be respectful but realizing too late that when 'elder' and 'Li' are said too quickly that they merged into the one, disrespectful word. Li burst into laughter, nearly falling over.

"You may have seen through the discreet attack from above, but you fell for the 'Elder Li!' Ha ha ha!" Wiping tears from his eyes, he faced the stunned duo and told them, "My name is Roger. I just like to get people with that one!"

Julia rolled her eyes, then beckoned to Flame and walked back to the ladder that would take them down.

* * *

It was close to lunch time when they left the tower, so they went out to another restaurant, this one being just a cheaper, fast food restaurant. Julia ordered with Flame a box of combusken wings and fries and they went out to sit on a bench by a large pond. Despite her hind legs being thinner and weaker than before, Flame stubbornly continued walking on them alone.

"Hey, Flame," Julia began as they started to eat, "why did Noah give you a nice nickname if he didn't like you very much?"

Flame gave her a funny look and said something that would puzzle Julia for a long time.

"It's not my nickname. And he didn't give it to me."

Julia blinked. "What? What do you mean?"

"Flame is my real name. It's like your name, Julia. Julia isn't a nickname, right? Flame isn't, either."

"No, I get it. I mean, did Noah really not name you?"

Flame shook her head. "It's my name. You don't 'get named', you're just born with one."

"Uh, Flame..." Julia frowned at her. "Nobody is born knowing their name. Either your parents name you, or your trainer does."

"Really?!" Flame cracked the bone of the wing she was chewing on in shock and stared at her trainer. "Well, I was born with my name, whether you believe me or not!"

"I do believe you, but..." Julia trailed off and stared over the water. "It's just weird, that's all." Flame finished off her wing, putting the large, unchewable bones inside the corner of the box and grabbed a pawful of fries. It was very weird, Julia realized. In fact, something was weird about Flame in general. What Li, or rather, Roger, had said about their bond being like a long friendship, too... Julia couldn't understand it, but when she figured out that Flame would get attacked from above, a true surge of panic had come over her. She felt as if she was throwing her life away to protect Flame's, even though the attack may not even have knocked her out. What was more, even now, Julia felt that same closeness, that if it truly came down to life or death, she knew she would do it again for her.

_Why do I feel this way?_ Julia wondered, absently grabbing the same wing that Flame had just grabbed.

"Hey, Julia, you okay?" Flame asked, looking at her. "You seem a little out of it."

"Sorry. I'm just thinking about what happened with that hoothoot."

"Oh, right!" She suddenly took on a protective tone. "Julia, I promise to, someday, return the favour!"

"What? What do you mean?" Julia asked.

"If you're ever in danger, I'll shield you from getting hurt. When I get stronger, okay?" Flame smiled. "Because we're friends!"

Julia was overcome with emotion and she nodded. "Best friends," she corrected, taking Flame's paw. They grinned at each other, then went back to eating their lunch.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, Julia, you really don't remember anything about your past?"

Julia stood on the beach with the cyndaquil named Flame. Now that her vision had cleared, she could see krabbies sitting on rocks, blowing bubbles into the air. It was beautiful, but she didn't understand how she had gotten here or, more importantly, why she was a pokémon.

"No, nothing at all. I'm sorry." It felt odd, yet strangely natural, for Julia to be communicating with mostly body language, but she got the feeling that whatever language she had spoken before she would not be able to speak as a pikachu.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked. "If you were a human before, then you must be from farther away. And because you have amnesia..." He trailed off.

"What do you think I should do?" Julia asked, defeated. "I don't know this place at all, or anybody here...well, besides you. Sort of."

"I wish I could help you," Flame sighed. An awkward silence fell between them. Julia began to wonder if she should just leave when a purple something flew at Flame and knocked him over. A stone fell out of the brown bag he had around his shoulder.

"Hey! What gives?" Flame squeaked indignantly, glaring at the purple something, which Julia identified as a zubat. "Watch where you're going!"

"I think you should be the one getting out of our way!" sneered the zubat. Before Flame could come up with a comeback, a koffing swooped down from behind and, enveloping the stone in his fumes, lifted it up and away from him.

"Hey, give that back! That's mine!" Flame yelled, balling his paws into fists.

"Or what?" jeered Zubat. "Or else you'll knock us out?"

"Yeah! That's exactly what I'll do if you don't give it back to me!"

Koffing chuckled. "Well, hit us with your best shot now! Prove that you can knock us out!"

Flame only looked fierce for another heartbeat before his rage disappeared and he began to tremble. This made Koffing and Zubat both erupt into bouts of laughter, Koffing nearly dropping Flame's stone.

"You're just a big baby!" laughed Koffing. "You couldn't muster up the courage to even attack us!"

"What a total loser!" added Zubat, chiming in. Julia was losing her temper with these two bullies.

"Cut that out!" Julia yelled at them. "Just give it back to him, you jerks!"

"Aw, boo hoo hoo. Go cry me a river," taunted Koffing. "This looks pretty valuable, doesn't it? We're not about to just hand it over. Or are you going to fight for it?"

Julia's growled, but her anger had also melted. She had no idea how to battle, and even if she could fight, she was certain that she was nowhere near strong enough to beat them both.

"Whoa, you're both losers!" exclaimed Zubat. "Are we ever lucky that you were the ones with that treasure!"

"See ya later, chumps!" guffawed Koffing, and with that, he and Zubat flew away into a wide opening in the rock behind them. Julia turned back to Flame, but he looked heartbroken.

"I can't believe this. Those two stole my treasure!" He looked like he was about to start crying.

"Well, let's go after them!" Julia insisted, pointing at the cave. "They can only go so deep before the cave ends, right? I'll bet they're just waiting there until they think we've gone away, but if we follow them, we can fight them and take back your treasure!"

"You – you'd help me fight them?" Flame asked incredulously. "But I bet they're really strong. And I've heard that that cave goes pretty deep down. And it's filled with wild pokémon! We'd have to fight a lot to even get to them! Is it even worth the effort?"

"If that treasure is really so special to you, then of course it is!" Julia took his paw. "You could show me how to battle. And I don't care how much fighting I have to do – I just know that I definitely want to show those bullies who's boss!"

Flame nodded slowly, then put on a determined face. "You're right! My treasure is my most important possession in the world to me, and I'm not just going to let those thugs have it! Let's go after them!" He then clasped onto Julia's paw, too, and they walked into the cave side-by-side.

Inside the beach cave, it was dark and damp and a salty smell filled the air. But Julia caught a faint scent of Koffing's poisonous gasses, and she led the way boldly. Suddenly, a shellos spotted them and approached, looking hostile.

"Alright, Julia," Flame said, taking the lead. "Watch me carefully." He neared the shellos fearlessly and tackled it backwards, knocking it unconscious. "Even though the pokémon in here are pretty weak, there's lots of them, so watch your back and be on your guard."

Julia nodded. The move looked easy enough, but why couldn't she, as a pikachu, use any electric type moves? Wouldn't that be easier than attacking them?

They travelled through the narrow passageways until Julia spotted a kabuto. She stopped walking and waited for it to approach before she slammed into it the way Flame had shown her. And as he had said, they were super weak – it fainted in a single hit. Over time, she figured out how to Tackle in a way that dealt more immediate damage, as the attack called Quick Attack, and used that instead. The cave did go on for a long time, but Julia felt comforted by Flame's constant presence at her back. She just followed Koffing's scent along the paths.

"Hey, uh, Flame," Julia began as they walked, "what did those two steal? Why is it so important to you?"

Flame cringed, then, ducking his head in slight embarrassment, replied, "It's my personal treasure. I call it my relic fragment, and it's my most treasured possession. I...can't really remember how I found it, but one day, I just did. It's got an odd pattern on it, one that I've never seen before. I feel like it's really important, somehow, and it's sorta my inspiration for exploring. What if..." His eyes shone and he stared out at nothing, as if looking at something very distant. "What if it's the key to a great treasure, and it makes me really famous? Or what if it can save the world someday? Just thinking about all the possibilities makes me excited!" He caught himself and looked at Julia sheepishly.

"Sorry, I kinda got carried away there. It's just...my lifelong goal is to unlock the mystery of my relic fragment. That's why it's my most special possession."

"I get it," Julia reassured him with a smile. "It's great that you have such a great dream. I guess mine would be to find out who I am and to go home."

"Yeah, I guess so," Flame agreed. There seemed to be a slight change in his expression, Julia noticed. Did he seem a little disappointed?

Finally, the cave opened up in a spacious pit, and it was brighter than the rest of the cave. There floated Koffing and Zubat, both of whom looked absolutely shocked to see them. Flame's relic fragment lay on the ground just behind them.

"So! You followed us in, did you?" sneered Zubat. "Will you battle us, or will you chicken out again?"

Flame looked uncertain, taking a slight step back, but Julia put a reassuring paw on his shoulder, nodding at him. He tensed, then stepped forwards.

"No, this time, we'll battle you! And when we win, you'll give me back my relic fragment!"

"Big talk," Koffing drawled, "but do you have the strength to back that up? Come at me!"

Julia tried something. She concentrated, closing her eyes, and felt a spark building up in her cheek pouches. The moment the electricity built up enough, she leaped forwards in an electrified tackle at Koffing, shocking him. He yelped as he fell down gracefully through the air and landed on the ground, deflated. Zubat stared in surprise, not seeing Flame, who came in for a Tackle and struck him critically. Both of the thugs were now on the hard ground, knocked out.

Flame grinned at Julia triumphantly, then grabbed the relic fragment from its spot behind Koffing and Zubat. Just as he shoved it into his bag, the two baddies flew up again.

"That victory was just a fluke, got it?" yelled Zubat, beginning to back away.

"Yeah! We'll get you next time, when the boss is with us!" threatened Koffing, but the speed at which they dashed out of there proved their newfound terror of Flame and Julia.

"How could I have ever been afraid of them? They were just as weak as all the wild pokémon in here!" Flame laughed. "Did you see them fly outta here? It was like they saw a ghost or something!"

Julia nodded in agreement, snickering. Then they left, too.

* * *

Outside, the light of the sun was only just fading, bubbles still floating around. Did their trek through the beach cave really take so little time?

"Thanks again for helping me get back my relic fragment!" Flame exclaimed, looking happy enough to burst. "Hey, wanna take a look at the pattern?" Without waiting for an answer, he set down the stone on the sand between them. Upon closer inspection, it was about half the size of Julia's head, and top was completely flat and smooth. A white pattern was inscribed on its face, one that did not even remotely look like anything Julia had ever seen before.

"It's really interesting," she remarked, her eyes wide.

"Just out of curiousity," Flame began, looking eager, "does it seem familiar to you? I mean, I know that you lost your memory and all, but does it, I don't know, remind you of anything? Maybe it's from wherever you're from!"

Julia sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Flame, but I've never seen this pattern before. I'm quite sure of it."

"Right. I guess not. I was just...overly hopeful about that." He tucked the relic fragment back into his bag. Behind him, the last of the bubbles floated by, the sun close to completely vanishing into the waves.

"Where are you going to go now?" Julia asked him, trying to distract him from his disappointment. "I don't really have anywhere to go next, so if I could follow you for a bit, maybe find a place to stay for the night..."

"Oh, right. About that..." He cringed and looked at the sand. "Right before I found you zonked out here, I was going to apply at Wigglytuff's Guild, but I didn't have the guts to go in." At Julia's questioning expression, he explained, "It's a guild where pokémon train to become explorers of mystery dungeons, like the beach cave, except the mystery dungeons they explore are tougher. I was hoping that if I joined, I might be able to find some clues about my relic fragment while exploring. But I was too much of a chicken to even go in to the building!" Flame seemed completely depressed, and Julia wished that there was some way she could cheer him up.

A crazy thought came to her; a stupid idea that would probably only make things worse. What if I signed up at the guild with him?

All of the problems of that leapt out at her in her mind – she had only just met him and he might have different, sinister motives for joining; he might think she was too weak; what if nobody in the guild liked them? And, worst of all, what if they became good friends, only for her to find out who she was and return to wherever she came from, leaving him forever? But he was the only one she knew, and what other options did she really have?

"If I...if I come with you, will you sign up for the guild?" she blurted. Flame looked completely taken aback and stared at her. Julia added "I mean, if I find out how to return home, then I might have to leave you. But by then, I'm sure we'll already have made friends and – "

Unexpectedly, Flame cried out in joy while leaping forward at Julia, hugging her tightly. Julia blinked, then hugged him back.

"Julia, you're the best!" he squeaked. "I'll do it! I'll join the guild with you! Let's be good friends, okay?"

"Yeah," agreed Julia, snuggling into his fur, which was warm to the touch. One of the perks of being a fire type, she supposed.

Then, they broke off their hug and Flame led the way to the guild. By the time they had climbed up the long flight of steps, the sky was already turning dark and some stars were appearing. From all the way up there on the ledge, Julia could see lights glistening below. Flame peered down at where Julia was looking and explained, "That's Treasure Town you see down there. It's a pretty great view from up here, isn't it?"

Julia nodded in agreement, watching only a while longer before turning around to face the guild entrance. A few torches blazed in front of a tent that they illuminated. Julia tried to make out the shape, and guessed that it was painted to look like – what else – a wigglytuff. A grate had been made in the ground near the entrance. Flame took an audible deep breath, then walked over to stand on it.

A voice from below shrilled, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Flame held perfectly still, but Julia could somehow sense the fear rolling off of him in small waves. So pokémon could sense fear too, huh? That was pretty cool.

"The pokémon is cyndaquil! The pokémon is cyndaquil!"

"Come on in, cyndaquil!" Flame sighed in relief and stepped off the grate, glancing at Julia.

"Now, you step on the grate!" he told her, and Julia did as told. The voice called out from almost directly beneath her.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

There was a long pause before the previous voice replied, "The pokémon is... The pokémon is...uh...

"Well, Diglett, whose footprint is it?" the other voice bellowed. Another pause, then, "WHADDAYA MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW?! JUST TELL ME WHICH POKÉMON THE BLOODY FOOTPRINT BELONGS TO, YOU MISERABLE LITTLE – "

Julia exchanged a glance with Flame, who just shrugged at her. Yelling and curses came from under the grate. A small mount of dirt appeared in front of the grate and a diglett popped up. He surveyed Julia up and down, then disappeared again. There was a break in the yelling, broken only by loud "uh-huhs" until finally the voice screamed, "THAT'S A FUCKING PIKACHU, YOU DOLT! MY GODS, WERE YOU DROPPED ON YOUR HEAD AS A CHILD?!" Flame giggled awkwardly.

"Odd how only one voice seems to be doing all the yelling...?" he offered, looking slightly exasperated. Julia peered down the grate, waiting for the yelled to stop to try to ask if she could enter the tent, but it sounded like whoever was yelling had moved away from the grate. The non-stop screaming sounded farther away, then came closer and closer until the pokémon finally emerged out the tent entrance. It was a loudred. What a surprise. Beside him was the diglett, who was mumbling apologetically.

Loudred finally stopped yelled obscenities and snapped, "Awfully sorry for the delay, you two. Diglett was just being a blind little arse and was giving us all a hard time. APOLOGIZE AT ONCE TO THESE TWO, DIGLETT!"

"Sorry, folks," Diglett mumbled. "I've never seen a pikachu before, so I couldn't recognize your footprint."

"LOUDER!" insisted Loudred.

"I'm sorry for the hold-up!" Diglett yelled, then gave Loudred the stink-eye. Loudred stomped on Diglett, forcing him back into the ground.

"Fuckin' pest," muttered Loudred. He addressed Flame and Julia now. "Are you two applying at the guild?"

"Um, yeah," Flame said, a little two loudly. Julia's ears were ringing from all of the yelling. She wondered anxiously if Loudred gave Diglett special treatment, or if he yelled at everyone.

"Then follow me," he said, beckoning with his arm. The two were led down a ladder into a large room lit with torches. The room was mostly deserted, but the pokémon there gave Loudred dirty looks. Some of them looked like they had just been woken up.

"What is all this commotion about?" exclaimed a chatot who came up from another ladder beside the one Flame, Julia, and Loudred had just gone down. "How many times must I tell you not to yell like that at bed time?!"

"Whatever, Chatot," Loudred muttered. "These two want to apprentice at the guild."

"What, these two kids?" Chatot asked, hardly looking at them. "Haven't they heard how difficult the apprentice training program is? Are they idiots?"

"YOU ask them; after all, they're standing right here." Loudred sighed then stomped away, ignoring the other pokémon that yelled at him as he went.

Chatot scrutinized both of them again, shaking his head and muttering, "Children, children..."

"So, um, it's a really hard program?" Flame asked nervously. Chatot nodded, turning his back to them.

"You ought to see the hordes of trainees running away in fear each day – " At that moment, he seemed to figure out for the first time that he was driving terror into both Flame and Julia, and he suddenly whipped around again, beaming.

"No, no, no! What I meant to say is that the program is very easy for newcomers and young apprentices! Not difficult at all!"

"Geez, he really put on a different face in a flash there, didn't he?" Flame whispered to Julia, still unsettled. Julia nodded back at him, shuddering.

"Now, then, follow me, you two," Chatot called out cheerily, "and you can come form a team officially." The two exchanged glances, but followed Chatot down the ladder. Below was another spacious room. Here, there were not as many pokémon about. The floor was quiet.

"Hey, Julia, check it out!" Flame grinned. "Look! That window leads to outside!"

"Don't get so overenthusiastic over nothing!" snapped Chatot. "In case you didn't know, this guild has been built on the side of a cliff. Now, follow me, and do not, I repeat, DO NOT disrespect the Guildmaster in any way, you hear?" With that, he knocked on a door with his talon and called out cheerfully, "Oh, Guildmaster, I'm coming in!" Then he opened the door, Julia and Flame slowly following him in.

There were more blazing torches inside, and open treasure chests filled with apples. On a mat, facing away from them, stood Wigglytuff, motionless.

"Here are a couple of new kids!" Chatot chirped. "They would like to form a team!" The Guildmaster said nothing. Suddenly, he continued to say nothing. Was he even breathing?

"Erm...Guildmaster?" Chatot asked nervously. For another few moments, nothing was said. Finally, the Guildmaster turned around. He beamed at the initiates with a smile as wide as the sun.

"Hiya!" he said brightly. "Nice to meet you, ...?"

"My name's Flame and this is my partner, Julia," Flame introduced, seemingly flustered by the surprisingly happy nature of the Guildmaster.

"Nice to meet you, Flame and Julia!" he finished. "My name is Wigglytuff! You two have come to apply at the guild, right? What name would you like to give your team?"

"You choose a name," Julia told Flame. If she did eventually leave, she wanted him to have a name that he wanted.

"We'll be...Team Eleblaze!" Flame grinned at his partner. "How does that sound?"

"I like it," Julia agreed, noticing painfully that the name included both of their types. She almost wished that she would never find out who she was and have to leave.

"Team Eleblaze it is, then!" Wigglytuff announced. "I'll just register you as a team! Registering...Registering..." His facial expression never changed until he yelled, "Registered! YOOM-TAH!" Flame and Julia jumped a little at that last phrase, but Wigglytuff was as cheerful as before. "Yay! Now you two are officially a team! Congratulations!" He pulled a golden box out from behind his back and presented it to them. "This is your exploration kit! It has your badges, a wonder map, and your treasure bag! They'll all come in super handy!"

Flame peered at his small brown bag and frowned, as if wondering if it wasn't enough. Julia glanced at Chatot, who'd had the same, plastered-on expression throughout Wigglytuff's entire speech. He still seemed confused about why Wigglytuff had been silent for a minute. Julia was, too. But Wigglytuff seemed nice enough. And she got the feeling that she had made the right choice in choosing to join the guild with Flame, even if it was just for a while.

* * *

Night was now in full swing. The full moon could be seen from Flame and Julia's window. They had been assigned a small room with two beds. Despite its overly small size, it had a large window that let in the moonlight.

Flame and Julia lay in their beds, neither quite asleep yet.

"Hey, Julia," Flame whispered. "You still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks again...for helping me work up the courage to come here. I've been wanting to join for such a long time, but it's thanks to you that I was finally able to. Maybe...maybe you came from wherever you came from so you could help me out!"

Julia snorted. "Not a chance, Flame," she snickered. "But it's a nice guess, anyways."

"Yeah, it was a stupid thing to say," he admitted. "But I guess that's how much it means to me. I've never really had friends. I mean, sure, I'm friendly with some of the folks in Treasure Town, but people always get annoyed with me because I talk too much and then I'm always too timid to be useful. You're the first...real friend I've had."

"...And, at least here, you are, too," Julia replied. She turned her head to the side to look at him. "Thanks for being my friend, Flame."

"My pleasure!" grinned Flame. "Now, let's get some sleep so we can be well-rested for tomorrow!"


	5. Chapter 5

Feathers fluttered through the air, caws and chirrups of bird pokémon filling the Gym with sounds. Julia stood with Flame on the narrow glass pathway that was several metres above the floor below, trying not to look down. Falkner had returned to his Gym, and Julia decided that it was high time to return and challenge him again. The other trainers along the pathway had already been defeated, but Flame was unable to execute any move other than Ember, due to the pathway being too narrow to move much around on, and also due to the pidgeys and spearows being real asses and flying just out of Flame's reach. On top of that, Flame was still going strong with her attempt to continue to be bipedal, even though she was clearly having a rough time with it.

Now, they stood in front of Falkner, flabbergasted. He had his back turned to them, and he was talking loudly on his Pokégear that seemed to be, from the snippets of words Julia caught, about some sort of fashion crisis in Fortree city in Hoenn. _Great Arceus!_ she thought in frustration to herself. _Doesn't he see that he has challengers? Can't he wait until later to chat?_

Finally, Falkner ended his call and turned around. He rolled his eyes when he caught sight of Julia.

"Oh, it's you again. Alright, let's finish this quickly. I don't have time to mess around with little kids like you." He then noticed Flame and added, "Did you get a different pokémon, too? What, chikorita wasn't good enough for you?"

"It's not like that!" insisted Julia, but he just scoffed and let out his pidgeotto.

"Whatever. I've got more important matters to attend to than battling some fresh kid."

Flame carefully crawled between Julia's legs, trembling slightly when she glanced down. The glass platform that Falkner stood on for the battle was hardly wide enough to hold a snorlax; Julia couldn't even stand on it herself. Flame walked out onto it, trying to size up Pidgeotto, who had not yet taken wing.

Falkner sounded the first command of, "Use Gust, Pidgeotto!" Now Pidgeotto rose in the air, beating his wings powerfully in Flame's direction. She was forced to set down her front paws to gain stability, but squinted up at her opponent with a determined glare.

"Ember, Flame!" Julia called out to her. Using Flame Wheel here would be suicide.

Fire shot out Flame's neck and lower back as she sent Embers flying at Pidgeotto. The wind slowed them down, however, as well as causing them to blow out the moment they made contact with his feathers.

"Hey, Flame!" called Julia. "Try using Quick Attack to take him down!" Flame braced herself, then leapt up with all her might, grabbing on to one of Pidgeotto's wings with her small fangs, then letting the flames spurt out of her neck again to startle him out of the sky.

Pidgeotto struggled, but the extra weight on his wing caused him to drop like a stone, missing the platform entirely. Julia ran out to the edge of the platform to watch in horror as the two crashed into the floor below, the weight breaking the wooden boards they landed on.

"Flame!" Julia called out. "Are you alright?" Flame leapt back from the wreckage, paused to grin up at Julia, then Flame Wheeled into Pidgeotto. The already weakened pokémon stood no chance as Flame rolled over him over and over.

"Shit!" Falkner cursed. "Pidgeotto!" Then, without warning, he jumped down from the ledge onto the floor below. The ledges were not an awful way up, but the impact from the leap down would definitely be jarring. Julia took a deep breath, then also jumped down, crashing heavily onto her feet before feebly falling over.

_Ow ow ow ow ow,_ she mentally whimpered. _Why can't I have just taken the elevator down? That's what I get for trying to show off, I guess!_

Flame only looked worried until Julia picked herself up, smiling casually.

"I'm good, I'm good," she assured Flame through her agony. She officially hated everything to do with bird pokémon as of that moment.

Falkner stroked Pidgeotto's head soothingly, then returned him to his Poké Ball. Sighing, he stood up and dug through his pocket, pulling out a badge.

"Here, take your badge," he muttered. "I usually have Fearow, too, but I've lent him to Winona for a while, so I have no other pokémon to fight with right now. Kudos to you, and all that." He glanced at Flame momentarily, then walked away, possibly to re-station himself up on his perch.

"We did it, Flame!" Julia cried out happily, lifting Flame in a hug. "We got our first Gym badge!"

"_You_ got your first Gym badge," Flame corrected embarrassedly, but Julia shook her head.

"Because you were the one doing most of the work, our victory is shared!"

"Geez, Julia," Flame snickered, "aren't you getting a bit worked up over nothing?"

Julia set Flame back down and they walked back out of the Gym together, the hole in the floor completely ignored by everyone but the advisor at the Gym statues, whose eyebrows were furrowed together in concern as he rushed back to try and fix it.

Once they were outside, Julia checked the map on her Pokégear. The next town, Azalea, was a fairly good ways away. Seeing as it was quite late in the day, it didn't make sense to set off now, as they would arrive too late and possibly get lost.

However, there was something nearby that Flame and Julia could do.

"Alright, Flame, follow me!" Julia said, beckoning with her arm. Flame followed her as quickly as she could, but Julia discovered quickly that due to Flame's resolution to not use her front paws for walking, she had to slow down her pace once again. She just hoped that Flame's next evolution would be suited for walking on two legs.

They walked along the sidewalks with the sun in their eyes half the time. Violet city was still a city, and while it wasn't overly big, it was a lot larger than New Bark or even Cherrygrove. It took nearly half an hour to cross it at the fastest pace Flame could manage, but they finally did come to the gate between the city and the next route. They passed through, coming onto Route thirty-six, a short route that connected to Route thirty-seven and led to both Goldenrod and Ecruteak city. But the south exit led to a very different area.

Another gate separated the path from the famous Ruins of Alph, the place where they headed to now. Signs inside the gate warned visitors not to damage or graffiti the ruins, and to avoid trainer battles. When they emerged from the gate, Julia glanced down at Flame to see what she thought. And judging from her expression, she was in total and utter awe. In the dying light, the Ruins of Alph seemed like wonders from another world. A small river passed by ancient stone buildings engraved in strange runes. Rocks were set up in careful, distinct patterns around the place, and the well-worn path passing through was dotted with tourists, who took pictures and pointed at what they saw.

Flame took a slow step forward, her eyes shining. Suddenly, she dashed on all fours, her excitement too much for her.

"This – this is amazing!" she squeaked energetically. "Come here, Julia! Take a look at this!" Julia jogged over to where Flame stood, staring at one of the square, stone huts. She ran her paws along the surface, squinting at the runes. "Look, these ones are different," Flame murmured, pointing at some seemingly-random marks and dents. "These are in footprint runes. I can read footprint runes!"

As Julia scrutinized the surface, she realized that Flame was correct. While most of the symbols scratched in looked like the pokémon unown, what Flame was looking at below was a pattern of different pokémon footprints. Then she suddenly processed what she had just said.

"Wait. Did you say that you could read them?!" asked Julia.

"All pokémon can read footprints," Flame explained. "It's common knowledge. I bet any pokémon would be able to read these. Look here, it says..." She narrowed her eyes in concentration. "...We will be...forgotten long time...stone defend time...protect..." For a minute longer, she mumbled to herself, scanning the wall, then stepped back from the stone. "It seems to be some sort of weird legend," she decided, "about some sort of stones that protect time. It doesn't make an awful lot of sense, though. It looks like footprints meant other things back then. Like this – " She prodded the wall. " – this reads as 'false god of dirt'. Obviously, it can't really mean that. A god of dirt would be weird."

"Wow, you seem to be really getting into this," Julia grinned. "I'm glad we went here."

"Yeah, me too!" Flame smiled back at her, walking ahead, once again on her hind legs. "Just think of all the mysteries waiting to be uncovered! Let's explore together!" Julia followed Flame around the ruins, hopping over the river with her to reach another hut. Flame led the way inside it, Julia close behind. The inside of the room was pitch-black, so Flame activated her flames on her neck and rear to add some light. In front of them, in the middle of the room, was an odd, u-shaped structure built of rock. Julia and Flame approached it together.

There were several small square slabs within a frame in the middle of the structure, each printed with part of a pattern. They seemed to be all turned around the wrong way, so Julia carefully pulled one out, then set it back in the way she thought it should go.

"Hey! Let me see what you're doing!" Flame cried out, trying to stretch herself higher to look at the puzzle. Julia lifted her up, then turned around another slab.

"You're doing it wrong!" Flame interrupted, prying it back out with her claws then gripping it firmly between her paws. She set it back in again carefully and took out another. The hairs on the back of Julia's neck rose as she felt anxious.

"Careful not to drop it, Flame," she warned, squeezing Flame tighter. Her pokémon turned her head and gave her a look.

"What does it look like I'm doing? And stop trying to choke me!" Julia mumbled an apology and loosened her grip, watching Flame with more intensity until the pattern began to take shape as a helix fossil. There also seemed to be some unown runes inscribed in the panels, but Julia had no time to read them, as Flame's setting in the last slab sounded a click and the floor rumbled, giving way beneath their feet. With a cry, they fell down onto another floor below, Flame cushioned from the fall by Julia's already abused body. _How much pain do I have to go through today?!_

Down here, it was darker, and when Julia looked up, she could see a square of light above her, a bit too high up for her to reach. _That must be where we fell from_, she realized. _So how do we get back up there?_

"Julia, look! On the floor!"

Startled, Julia took a step back and looked at the floor. In the dim light, she could see more unown runes engraved on the ground. She squinted and tried to read them what was written.

'They came...second...from a place else...against all...but never...' Some of the runes were too faint to read or scratched out, by whom Julia could not imagine. She relayed what she had read to Flame.

"Sounds like the runes are in English," Flame noted, trying unsuccessfully to kick dirt from one of the covered runes, instead falling unceremoniously on her tail. Picking herself back up onto her hind paws, she added, "I wonder who 'they' are and where they came from."

"It's probably a legend, Flame," Julia told her. She felt uneasy. Something about being in this room made her feel like she was stepping on something sacred, that she was trespassing. Behind that thought, there was also another indiscernible emotion tugging at her, and she felt like she was forgetting something important. The desire to leave tugged at her. "C'mon, let's try to find a way out of here."

"Fine," replied her pokémon. Her voice was casual enough, but now that her initial excitement had faded, a tone of fear could be heard and she seemed to duck her head and glance from side to side nervously.

It didn't take long for Julia to find a large tile in the top-left corner of the room that rose up from the floor about five centimetres, so she pointed it out to Flame. They approached it, then, remembering the previous fall they had had, Julia tapped it lightly with her toe. The tile gave way easily and, as expected, the tile beside it that Julia and Flame both stood on dropped to another floor beneath it. The thud of the tile's and their fall echoed loudly through the hallway they were now sprawled in.

"Owowowow..." Flame whimpered, rising unsteadily to her hind paws and teetering back and forth. "You okay, Julia?"

Julia leaned against a wall as she pulled herself to her feet, tears in her eyes. _That hurt!_

"You two! What the hell are you doing?!"

They turned to see a man speed-walk towards them, fuming. "Did you touch that helix fossil mural in the room above?!"

"Erm, yes," Julia told him awkwardly. "Actually, Flame here solved it." She pointed at Flame, but the man didn't take his furious eyes off her.

"Don't you try to lay the blame on your pokémon! Do you know what you could have done? You could have broken the slides, or worse! Did you not read the clear sign in the entrance not to damage the ruins? Or are you such a little kid that – "

"The room above us has unown runes in it!" Julia interrupted, stunning the man into silence. "They – they say something about somebody coming from somewhere..."

Despite that sounding very stupid, the man suddenly seemed intrigued. "What exactly does it say?" he asked excitedly.

"I can't remember exactly, but if you fall through a hole in the top floor, then you – "

"Perfect, that's all I need to know!" he exclaimed. "Your childish and reckless actions may have caused a breakthrough in understanding the meaning of the ruins! Thank you so much, er...?"

"That's Julia and I'm Flame," Flame told him immediately, then ducked away from Julia, cringing. That was twice that Flame had introduced them! Did she think that she was the human and Julia the pokémon?

The man seemed to understand well enough, though. "Thank you, Flame, and your trainer (didn't quite catch your name, kid)! If there's anything that you need, feel free to ask me!" Then, not noticing Julia's increasingly annoyed expression, scurried off down the dark hall and vanished.

"Mind telling us the way out?" Julia called out after him, but he had gone. She sighed then walked in his general direction. Flame followed, but lagged, increasingly falling behind. She kept stopping or slowing down to stare at the walls, quietly reading any footprint runes in a soft growl. On top of making very little progress down the dark halls, Julia's nagging sense of missing a vital clue about this place returned, as well as the feeling of being watched.

"Come on, Flame," she hissed, "let's just try to get out of here as quickly as we can!" Flame continued to ignore her until she suddenly stopped, her ears perked up.

"Hey, Julia... Do you hear that?"

Perhaps it was something about the way Flame said that, but Julia's fear increased and she tried listening. For a moment, she heard nothing, except for the distant sound of tourists deeper in the tunnels. Then she heard it.

It was a faint buzzing sound, almost like a beedrill, but it was increasing in volume. On top of that, it sounded like many somethings were causing it. Tiny little hums caused by dozens upon dozens of somethings. Maybe even hundreds.

The humming grew louder.

"R-run!" Julia yelled, taking a few steps backwards. Flame seemed transfixed, however; staring into the black depths of the hallway.

"Please!" she begged, picking up pace and bumping into a pillar. The quilava still wasn't moving. Julia began to approach her, groping in her pocket for Flame's Poké Ball, when a wave of drowsiness swept over her, nearly knocking her over.

_What is this? I feel really dizzy all of a sudden... _Another wave spread over her, then her vision went black. Panic and confusion rose in her when a bright light interrupted the black. And she found herself staring at hundreds of grey, oddly shaped pokémon, each with one wide, unblinking eye. _A horde of unown!_

The vision lasted for only a moment, and she was suddenly back in the dark hallway, half-collapsed against the pillar. _What...what was that?! _But when the buzzing was almost on top of them, Julia suddenly understood. Without saying a word, she grabbed Flame and dashed away.

"Julia! Wh-what's going on?" squealed Flame, staring at Julia nervously with her wide red eyes. Julia hardly heard her, though she was breathing too hard to respond anyways. Her eyes were trained forward and the only thing she allowed herself to think about was what was closing in on them from behind.

Her foot caught on a loose floor tile and she pitched forward, shielding Flame with her arms as she crashed to the floor. She whipped her head around and finally saw them. The unowns' humming of psychic energy threatened to deafen her and they swirled around too madly for the eye to follow. Within seconds, they were completely surrounded by the small grey bodies that pressed in. She could feel the quilava tremble against her.

_This can't be how it ends! Julia thought desperately. Help – !_

Although the voice was drowned out, the blast that was commanded roared above the humming then sounded again. Julia looked up and saw the unown flying backwards every time the Signal Beam attack was fired. Even those who weren't hit began to flee until they were finally all gone. Julia shook, breathing hard, then turned to see who their saviour was. A violet-haired boy, not much older than Julia, pumped his fist triumphantly. In front of him stood an ariados, glaring fiercely in the direction the unown had fled.

"You okay?" asked the boy, coming over to offer a hand out to Julia. She cautiously took it, her other arm tightly around Flame's still-quivering body.

"Thanks to you, yeah," Julia replied, standing shakily. She got the sinking feeling that those unown would make reappearances in her nightmares.

"I've been here a few times, but I've never seen or even heard of the unown forming a swarm like that to attack someone," he said, grinning mildly. "You must've really pissed them off!"

"Well, that's the thing! We didn't do anything!" Julia protested. "Besides uncovering some room above with some runes in it..."

"That'll do it!" He slapped a hand on her shoulder, laughing. "Oh, by the way, my name's Bugsy and I'm the Azalea town Gym Leader. You can repay this favour by challenging me!" He returned his ariados then, shooting another grin at Julia, dashed away. She stared after him in confusion. That kid was a Gym Leader?

"Uh, Julia?"

Julia glanced down at Flame, whose trembling had subsided a bit, though her expression remained fearful. "Do you mind if we get out of here? Those unown really surprised me, and I'm still kinda shaken up." Was she trying to hide the fact that she got scared?

"I was thinking the same thing, Flame." Julia let out a short laugh to relieve her tension a little bit. "Let's go."

* * *

"No way! Are you saying that you had a vision of the unown before they attacked?!"

The two sat on Julia's bed in the Pokémon Centre overnight room, where Julia had finally decided to tell Flame about her unexpected vision in the ruins. Although it had been very vivid, it was such an odd thing to have happened that she was beginning to doubt she saw it herself now.

"I – yeah, I guess so," Julia replied. "It's really weird. I don't really know what to make of it yet."

Flame looked thoughtful from where she lay on the orange bedcovers. Her hind paws were tucked neatly at her side and her front paws dangled off the edge of the bed.

"Maybe that means you're a psychic type pokémon, like unown," she suggested.

"Again with the 'what pokémon I am' business? Flame, you know I'm not – "

"Or maybe like gardevoir! An orange-haired gardevoir! Imagine that!"

Julia sighed, trying to hide her smile. Flame obviously wasn't going to be stopped from speculating about this.

"Or – even better – what if I were a human?" Flame sat up straight, then mimicked Julia's seating position, balancing on her rear and splaying her hind legs out in front of her. She wobbled about for a moment, then fell over onto her back. Julia giggled.

"Honestly, Flame!"

For a few minutes after that, she got ready for bed, brushing her teeth and changing into her pyjamas. Then she turned off the lights and pulled away the blanket to get in. Flame watched from the floor, where she sat on her haunches.

"Erm, Julia," she began awkwardly, "would you mind if I slept in the bed again?"

The girl frowned, not wanting to deny Flame, but at the same time wanting a good night's rest for herself. Last night, Flame's body heat was too much for her. But what can you expect from a pokémon named Flame?

"Only if you stay on top of the covers," Julia finally gave in. "Otherwise, you'd heat up the bed too much." That seemed to be enough for Flame, as she hopped up on the bed and curled up between the wall and Julia's legs, casting a quick, grateful glance at her.

Julia closed her eyes and turned onto her side, and nearly fell asleep, when she heard Flame squeak, "Hey, are you still awake?"

"Yeah," she replied softly.

"Even though we got chased out by the unown, can we go back to the ruins again sometime? There's still so many questions I have about that place!"

"...Alright, Flame."

* * *

Water dripped from the jagged rock ceiling when Julia opened her eyes into a dream. The cave was very dim, but something in the distance was shining. She crept through the cave, following the path of light. Something very powerful and important was at the end. Something that she needed to retrieve. Was it the same thing that she had been searching for? Or were there many different ones?

The light came closer, and Julia was now able to make out every detail within the cave, every jagged point. Just around the next bend, she would be able to reach it. She reached an arm out.

Something jolted her back, slamming her into a rock wall behind her. When she opened her eyes again, the cave was replaced by the ceiling. Julia had woken up, back in her room. Her head throbbed, as though she really had hit her head against a wall.

_Why do I keep having these dreams?_ she wondered as she stood up and stretched. _What could they mean?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! Welcome to chapter 6! I am the best/worst procrastinator ever! X,D**

**As always, any writing or story suggestions are always appreciated, and I would love to have my story reviewed - anything helps!**

**Enjoy and thanks for reading! ;D**

* * *

"RISE AND SHINE! It's MORNING!"

Julia put her paws over her ears in an attempt to block out the loud noise. Loudred stood over her and Flame, hands on his waist.

"Hey, YOU TWO! Remember me from last night?" he roared. "I'm Loudred! And I was GRACIOUS enough to come WAKE you! If I hadn't been here to wake you up, you would have been LATE! And if you're LATE, you might make Guildmaster Wigglytuff lose his TEMPER! If that were to happen..." He turned away, shuddering. "That would NOT be a pretty sight!

"Ugh...thank you, Loudred," Flame groaned from his bed, looking as though he had given up on life. Frankly, that was close to how Julia felt. Loudred's little wake-up call had started a pounding headache and her ears were ringing. Luckily, that was the end of his yelling and he marched out of the room.

"'Morning, Julia..." Flame greeted blearily, getting up with slight difficulty. Julia nodded to him, almost certain that he had completely missed the gesture, then followed him out into the meeting area. Here, it seemed that the other Pokémon of the Guild had gathered and Chatot stood at the front of the room, looking very unimpressed.

"Hey, rookies! You're LATE!" called out Loudred from the crowd. Everyone within a three-metre radius ducked away from him. This act only seemed to upset Chatot more.

"Hush!" he snapped at Loudred. "Your voice is ridiculously loud!" Loudred did not respond to that, and instead turned away slightly. Chatot then directed his attention toward Flame and Julia. "However, he is correct!" he chastised, flapping his wings in agitation. "Make this time the first – and the last – time that you are late, got it?"

"Yes, Chatot, sir!" Flame called out, looking nervously to Julia.

"Now, then," Chatot continued, "before we continue with the morning address and cheer, I would like to introduce these two new recruits." Everyone turned to look at Flame and Julia, and Julia felt suddenly self-conscious with all of these Pokémon looking at her. "These are Julia and Flame, everyone. As of yesterday, they are trainees of the Guild, so treat them kindly!" Although his words were gentle, his execution of them was sharp, a direct order rather than a request.

He raised his head higher, briefly checking the Guild members assembled, then called out before anyone could greet Flame or Julia, "Alright! Everyone seems to be present. Let us conduct our morning address!" Perhaps it was solely due to him being a Chatot, but his voice had a lilt to it, causing him to sound slightly whimsical.

"Guildmaster! The Guild is in full attendance!" he sang, turning to look at the doors that led to the Guildmaster's office. Within a moment, they burst open, and Guildmaster Wigglytuff waddled out, his green eyes wide open. Chatot tilted his head to the side slightly and paused, then, smiling, said, "Thank you, Guildmaster! Now please address the crew!"

When Chatot fell silent, Wigglytuff did not speak right away, nor did he ever. All that could be heard coming from him was a light snore.

"Would you look at that!" one of the Guild members whispered. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!"

"Yup, you got that right," came another whisper.

"Looks like he's fast asleep."

"Eek! His eyes are wide open, though!"

Chatot's expression did not falter, but an eye twitched before he continued, "Thank you, sir! We all value your...words of wisdom!" He faced the crew and addressed them. "All right, Pokémon! Let's all take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart! Now for the morning cheer!"

As one, all of the students chanted, "A ONE, A TWO...A ONE-TWO-THREE!

"ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK!

"TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY!

"THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!" Julia had tried to follow along, but was too distracted by the implications of 'run away and pay' to continue. If she learned where she came from and left the Guild, would that count as running away?

"Okay, Pokémon!" Chatot sang. "Let's get to work!"

"HOORAY!" the Guild called out, then the Pokémon dispersed, heading to their respective stations. Wigglytuff, presumably still sleep-walking, went back to his room and closed the doors behind him. Flame's eyes were wide with excitement.

"This is so amazing!" he cried. "I feel like I already belong here!" Julia could argue that, but she kept silent about it. She didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm.

"You two! Over here!" Chatot's voice sounded from the front of the room, and Julia and Flame quickly rushed over. It seemed like Loudred had been wrong about Wigglytuff this morning; while the Guildmaster seemed to be very docile and friendly, as she observed last night, Chatot seemed to have two emotions – a brisk, cheerful one, and a fairly terrifying temper. Julia did not want to be on the receiving end of the latter, so she decided to follow all of his instructions as best she could and try not to make him angry.

Chatot led them up the ladder and out of the crew room. Although they had been here the night before, Julia had not had the chance to look around. Now, she saw that the grass-covered middle floor had no other exits to other rooms and, on the walls on either side of the ladders, were two bulletin boards with many posters and scraps of paper pinned to them.

"Come here, if you'd please!" called Chatot. Flame and Julia joined him by where he stood beside one of the boards. "This here is the job bulletin board," he explained, "where Pokémon post requests, often for help in finding lost items or getting a friend safely out of a Mystery Dungeon." The phrase 'Mystery Dungeon' rang a bell for Julia, but she couldn't seem to recall where she heard it before. _Oh, that's right! _she realized._ Flame mentioned them last night – he said that Beach Cave was a Mystery Dungeon. But I still don't know what that means..._

"A Mystery Dungeon, like the Beach Cave, is a cave or forest or someplace like that that always changes its paths every time you visit it," Flame told her, seeming to clue in to her confusion. "In other words, it's always changing, so it's impossible to map and much more dangerous to travel through than any other path."

"Correct!" Chatot chimed. "Lately, more and more locations are turning into Mystery Dungeons, due to a disrupt in the flow of time." He lowered his voice and added ominously, "This disrupt in time is also causing many Pokémon to do bad things, so there has been an increase in danger to citizens of Treasure Town and even those who live farther away." Julia nodded along, and despite not following too well, the fur on the back of her neck rose and she felt cold. _As weird as it sounds, it seems to be a really big problem!_

"Thus, Pokémon are relying on the Guild and all the Guild's members more than ever to do a good job helping out and keep everyone safe." He smiled pleasantly before continuing, "You should come to this job board every day and pick a task to do. Since you're still new to the Guild, I'll pick an easy task for you to do!" He turned his attention to the board and rifled through the notices for a while before pulling one off with a talon.

"This ought to do. 'My brother went off exploring on his own through Drenched Bluff. I want to go after him, but I might need backup. Please help!'" Chatot handed the paper to Flame, who stowed it away in his bag. "I doubt that you will have much difficulty with this task. So make sure – "

"Chatot!"

Flame and Julia turned to see Wigglytuff climb up the ladder and walk over to Chatot.

"Yes, Guildmaster? Is there something I can help you with?" Chatot asked pleasantly.

"I keep telling you not to call me that!" Wigglytuff huffed at him, folding his arms. "I thought we were on close enough terms for you to call me by my name?" Although he was obviously trying very hard to look angry, his expression made him look more mischievous than anything.

"Guildmaster, although we are friends, I must set a good example for the students." Chatot's voice was firm and he watched Wigglytuff with a look of infinite patience. "Now, what is it that you wanted?"

"Well, I just noticed that my supply of Perfect Apples is running a bit low, so if you wouldn't mind sending out some students to fetch some more, that would be great!" He smiled widely, as though he had not gotten cross at all.

"Of course, Guildmaster! I will send off Sunflora and Loudred to Apple Woods!" Chatot faced Julia and Flame again and flapped his wings. "And you two! Off to work!"

Julia took that as a dismissal and turned away, beginning to climb up the ladder. Flame paused for a moment, looking from Chatot to Wigglytuff, then followed her.

"Y'know," Flame began as he climbed, "Loudred mentioned that Wigglytuff has a big temper, but he really doesn't seem like the kind of Pokémon who would get mad easily, does he?"

"I was thinking about that recently, too," Julia agreed, helping Flame climb out of the ladder tunnel. The ladder tunnels were neither tight nor very long, but they went straight up, and Julia had noticed that both she and Flame seemed to have some difficulty getting out of them; Flame especially, due to his smaller arms. "Wigglytuff seems very friendly and is always so happy!"

"Yeah, well..." Flame lowered his voice a little bit. "I heard from the Kecleon brothers in Treasure Town that he's the toughest Pokémon in the region! And that he's actually an accomplished explorer! I was afraid that he would be really harsh and strict when I heard that!"

"Nope, Wigglytuff is farther from strict than we are from the moon!" Julia agreed. They began walking down the stairs from the Guild. "But he has Chatot to be that for him!"

Flame grinned at her, then they both burst into laughter.

* * *

It didn't take a very long time to get to Drenched Bluff, but both Flame and Julia were breathing hard by the time they reached it.

"Don't tell me we have to get through that Mystery Dungeon now!" Flame panted. "And this is one of the nearest dungeons, too! There are other dungeons even further away on my Treasure map!" Julia sighed and grinned painfully at him.

"Think of it this way – at least we don't have to go to any of those today."

"Excuse me! Are you two explorers?" The two turned to face a tiny Spearow near the cave's entrance, who had an expression of deep concern on his face. It was Flame who answered him.

"Uh, yeah, we are." He pulled out the notice from his bag and scrutinized it again. Julia peered over his shoulder to read the note but found, to her shock, that the entire thing was written in another language. _I suppose I can only speak Pokémon, not read it,_ she realized glumly.

"Right! Spearow, you're our client, aren't you?" Flame finally asked, stowing away the note.

"Yes," Spearow replied, "so we need to hurry! Lucky could be seriously hurt by now, or worse, knowing his luck."

Not questioning the mention of 'Lucky,' Flame nodded and led the way into the cave. Drenched bluff was similar to Beach Cave, but it was more open and the ground was of stone rather than sand. Julia somehow ended up leading again, perhaps due to her electrical capabilities, which would serve them well in a cave full of water type Pokémon. Flame took up the rear, to protect Spearow from unexpected attacks from behind.

"So, who is this 'Lucky?'" Julia finally asked when her curiousity overflowed. "Lucky is my little brother," Spearow explained, "and he's always getting us into trouble, no matter what he does. Of course, I still adore him, but honestly!"

Julia nodded in silent acknowledgement. Now she wanted to ask Flame about the writing, but she knew it would be rude to immediately talk with her partner after Spearow had answered her question. Besides, explaining would probably take showing Julia the notice again, which would expose Spearow to attacks. So they continued in silence, defeating any wild Pokémon they came across and making their way deeper into the cave.

The passage suddenly widened, and the three found themselves in a wide cavern. It was much like the rest of the cave and relatively empty, save for a young Riolu sitting atop a boulder. The said Riolu's eyes widened when the Pokémon entered the cave and he hopped off the boulder.

"Brother!" he cried out, running at Spearow and toppling him over in a crushing hug. Flame and Julia stepped away from the little tangle, exchanging confused glances. _This_ was Spearow's brother?

"Lucky, get off me! You'll crush me!" protested Spearow, but Lucky completely disregarded his plea.

"What took you guys so long, Perry?" woofed Lucky. "I've gotten so bored alone here! And I found treasure, too!"

"Oh, really?" Perry scoffed, struggling on the ground to free himself. "Show me, then." Lucky got off Perry, but quickly grabbed his wing and dragged the poor Spearow away to the boulder he had been sitting on. Cautiously, Flame and Julia followed. _Lucky doesn't look like he needed rescuing, _she grumbled to herself._ Over an hour of boredom wandering through that cave, and it was for nothing!_

Lucky seemed to be showing a claw of some sort to his 'brother' with great gusto and enthusiasm. By the looks of it, Perry was used to Lucky's antics, but was frustrated nonetheless.

Flame idled awkwardly for a moment before asking, "So, do you want us to escort you out now?"

"That would be great!" squeaked Lucky, his eyes shining. "An escort, by a real exploration team! Hey, Perry, we should do that!"

"What?"

"Join Wigglytuff's Guild! Then we can become explorers, too!"

"Mom said when we're older."

"Let's run away from home, then!"

It was clear that Flame was running out of patience with these two. After allowing them to argue for another minute, he pulled out his and Julia's Explorer Badges and tossed Julia's to her. Catching it, she gave Flame a quizzical look, but he didn't see it. Instead, he held his badge out at Perry and Lucky. It glowed pink for a moment, then Perry vanished. Lucky hardly managed to squeak out his distress before he vanished too. Now Flame looked at his partner and laughed.

"You should see the look on your face! Ha ha ha!" He came over to her, pointing to her badge. "Our badges can be used to transport people away to the dungeon entrance, like an Abra's Teleport move. I think that a psychic type Pokémon made these work that way, but I don't really know how." He shrugged, then added, "So we can use them to escape any dungeon if we faint or if we do manage to get through, like now!"

He demonstrated by holding his badge towards himself, vanishing. Julia stared at the spot where he had been a second ago, then quickly attempted it on herself. Her badge glowed and suddenly, she was outside. Flame, who stood next to her, grinned.

"There you have it!" he said brightly. The ground below Julia felt like it was spinning and she stumbled dizzily into Flame, who caught her immediately. "Woah, are you okay there?!" he yelped, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

His paws were warm and she could feel the heat from his body radiating outwards. A bizarre wish that they would be closer came to Julia and she shook her head, trying to remove it from her mind. Flame took a step away from her embarrassedly, turning slightly red in the face, and Julia realized with a start that she had been blushing.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy," she quickly muttered. Still looking nervous, Flame nodded slowly and they began their reluctant return to the Guild.

"Good work, you two!" Chatot praised, his melodic voice half an octave higher than usual. "I expect that later today, your client will come in to reward you for a job well done!"

Flame and Julia had met Chatot by the job notice board in the Guild. The awkwardness between them had dissipated the moment they stepped into the Wigglytuff tent. Being back was too big a relief for them to stay distanced from one another.

"We get a reward?" Flame looked excitedly at Julia. "That's awesome!"

Just then, Loudred and a Sunflora climbed down the ladder with bulging bags filled with, as Julia suspected, apples. Sunflora looked especially furious at her partner, who also appeared to be cross.

"Sunflora, Loudred! What took you buffoons so long?!" snapped Chatot, flapping his wings in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Chatot," Sunflora huffed. "If Loudred wasn't acting like the total moron that he is, we would have been perfectly on time!"

"Oh, YEAH?!" yelled Loudred. "YOU'RE the one who was being a shit-for-brains! It's your fault that we were held up by that Scizor!"

"_Really?_ And how is that?"

"YOU wanted to go further into the woods because you HEARD that there was a strong Pokémon. I said, 'NO, we already HAVE the apples, so let's just go BACK,' but you were all – "

"That's quite enough!" shrilled Chatot. "Both of you, take the Perfect Apples down to Wigglytuff then report back here at once!"

"Yes, sir!" they both yelped, and vanished down the other ladder, still bickering. Chatot covered his face with his wing, muttering insults, then beamed again at Julia and Flame. "Very good work, Team Eleblaze!" he chirruped. "Now, feel free to talk with the other members while I sort out...those two." Again, Julia was unnerved by his sudden change in character, but Flame beckoned to her as he walked towards the centre of the room, so she followed. They approached Bidoof, who seemed to be on his own.

"Golly, if it isn't the two new recruits!" he addressed. "Sure is a pleasure to meet you both! If I remember correctly, your names are Flame and...?"

"Julia," Flame finished. He seemed to have a habit of preferring to introduce Julia rather than letting her speak on her own, which slightly irked her. Instead of saying so, though, she just nodded her head.

"Gee, I'm glad you two joined. Before you, I was the newest member, and I always felt like I couldn't do anything right. Plus, I had a lot of pressure from Chatot. But hopefully, the attention will be off me now!" Julia cocked her head slightly, not sure whether she should take that as an insult or let it slide.

"Hey hey hey! Don't be rude, Bidoof!" A Corphish scuttled over, crossly glaring at Bidoof. "Hello, Flame and Julia! I'm Corphish, and it's very nice to make your acquaintances."

"Nice to meet you, too," Julia responded, smiling. The afternoon seemed to last forever. A small lunch for any Guild members not out exploring was prepared by a Chimecho, and Flame realized, to his horror, that meat was never served.

"But – but that's not fair!" he wailed. "How am I supposed to survive on leaves and berries alone?!"

Chimecho turned her head away and replied in a delicate, chiming voice, "If you're really so desperate for the blood of other Pokémon, you could just hunt on an expedition. However..." Her gaze slide over to Julia. "...there is a chance that that would disgust your partner horribly."

"Ah..." Flame turned to Julia, a pleading look in his half-open eyes. "Would you mind at all, Julia, if I were to hunt from time to time?"

"I guess not," Julia sighed, "as long as you do it away from me." She didn't know what it was, but she did feel like it was gross to eat another Pokémon, and she certainly never wanted to see one be killed then eaten. Flame looked to the floor, then gave in.

"Fine. I don't need meat that badly. I'll just eat grass or whatever you guys usually eat." Chimecho nodded, apparently satisfied with his response. Even though Flame looked miserable, Julia felt a guilty sort of relief. She couldn't imagine him as a predator, anyways. The thought of him stalking a Rattata in the grass nearly made her laugh out loud.

It was nearly dusk when Perry and Lucky arrived at the Guild. Julia had been watching Flame deal with his fur in an almost Meowth-like manner and was contemplating whether or not she should attempt to clean her own fur the same way when an excited voice drifted down the ladder. Lucky stopped at the foot of the ladder, staring around with wide, shiny eyes, before noticing Julia and Flame sitting in front of the job notice board.

"Yoo-hoo! You guys! It's me, Lucky!" Behind the Riolu, Perry half-flew and half-fell down the ladder, trying to regain composure as he landed. Pausing in his grooming, Flame stood and beamed at the boys.

"Hi again, Lucky, Perry!" Flame called out. "What are you two doing here?"

"We've come to give you a reward for rescuing Lucky," Perry explained. He awkwardly hopped over to Flame and Julia, then dropped what he was carrying. It was a small, bulky brown sac, and Perry quickly added, "I'm giving you guys 200 Poké as a reward, okay?"

"Wow, that much?!" Flame asked, bewildered. "Thank you so much, Perry!" Perry nodded at him, then flew over to Lucky, who was dashing through the room, talking briefly to one Guild member, then to another, then another. The Spearow firmly clamped down on Lucky's tail and pulled his wildly protesting brother away to the ladder, forcing him through exertion of pain upon his tail to climb up the ladder.

"See ya round, Flame! Bye, uh, Pikachu!" he yelled at them before disappearing above.

"Why does it seem like nobody can remember my name?" Julia growled in frustration.

"Well, Julia isn't exactly a standard name – here, at least," Flame pointed out. "Wherever you came from, maybe it is normal. Anyways, can you believe how much money Perry gave us? We're rich!"

"Not quite, Flame," contradicted Chatot as he came up from behind them. "According to Guild rules, you only keep one-tenth of whatever you earn. The rest goes to Guildmaster Wigglytuff and myself."

"What? But – "

"Sorry, Flame. Guild rules," insisted Chatot. Reluctantly, Flame pulled 20 Poké from the sac and put it in his own bag. Chatot took the sac in his claw and flew away back down the ladder.

"Man, this bites! We totally deserved that money!" Flame was so agitated that flames began sputtering out his back.

"It's Guild rules, I guess," Julia pointed out. "Besides, we get to train here for free otherwise." Flame's anger subsided and he sighed.

"You're right. There's no point in getting mad over it."

"Dinnertime!" chimed Chimecho, flying up through the lower ladder tunnel. Flame exchanged a grin with Julia and they quickly ran over to the ladder.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, here's the chapter I was too lazy to upload last week. That, my friends, is a special kind of lazy. My inspiration pool is currently being subjected to a blazing drought, so please excuse me for being a crappy and slow writer. Grr, if only this story was already written and I could be working on the sequel already! Must...resist...**

**=^_^= Well, anyways, enjoy the chapter! As usual, critiques and ideas are always very appreciated and make me feel like what I am doing is not for naught!...though that's very likely what this is for. TvT**

* * *

"Hey! Julia! Wait!"

Julia turned to look in the direction of the voice. She and Flame had been nearing the city gates, preparing to leave Violet city for Azalea town, a good ways south of their current location. However, a man dressed in a white lab coat ran frantically towards them now, a PokéBall in his hand.

"Man, I'm so glad I caught you before you left!" he panted, resting his hands on his knees. "Professor Elm wanted me to give this to you." He held out the PokéBall, and Julia paused before taking it. What did she have to be cautious about? Did she think there was a giant Ekans in there?

But when Julia let the Pokémon out, Flame could clearly see that there was no giant Ekans. Before her stood a Ponyta, a young, cream-furred stallion that kept stepping on the spot. Flame thought he looked very antsy.

"This Ponyta is for me?" Julia asked incredulously. "But why...?"

"Oh, right! The prof. also wanted me to give you this note." The aide handed her a note in an envelope. "Supposedly, it explains everything inside."

"Alright. Tell him thanks for me, then," Julia told him. "Does he – " She gestured to the Ponyta. " – have a name?"

"No, a nickname is for you to give. I'd best get going – wait, is that a Quilava? How did you get one?"

Flame could see the anxiety in Julia's eyes and figured her temporary Trainer was trying to work out whether it was better to lie or tell the truth. Narrowing her eyes at the aide – there was a chance that he might be an imposter trying to take Flame back – Flame stepped in front of Julia.

"My previous Trainer abandoned me," Flame spoke up, "so Julia decided to take care of me instead." She looked up, relieved to see Julia's smile. _A good enough fib,_ she figured.

"That's very considerate of you," the aide beamed. "Now then, see you later!" He let a Pidgeot out of its PokéBall and, getting on its back, commanded, "Use Fly to New Bark town!" The Pidgeot beat its powerful wings and lifted off, vanishing over the tree tops in the distance. Julia let out a big sigh.

"Thanks for saving me an explanation. I really didn't know what to tell him." Then she looked at Ponyta with a slight frown. It looked like she didn't quite know what to do with it. Why had Elm chosen to give her a fire type, anyways? Now Julia had two.

_Or rather, one, _Flame remembered._ I'm not her Pokémon._

"So, uh, nice to meet you, Ponyta," Julia began carefully, the corners of her mouth turning up again. Ponyta seemed to give her a long look before responding.

"A pleasure. You may call me Sir Majestic Tail," he spoke with a flick of said majestic tail. Appearing unsure what to make of such a name, Julia paused again. Flame figured, with an eye roll, that she had better fill in for her again.

"I'm Flame, and this is Julia," Flame said, looking at Julia out of the corner of her eye. Julia did not seem to be as happy about being introduced as Flame had expected her to be. _I get how she'd be upset before, when I introduced her to a human, but won't less be lost in translation if I'm the one telling another Pokémon?_

"Indeed," snorted Sir Majestic Tail, raising his head, which hardly came above the top of Julia's head. Despite this, he was tall for a Ponyta, and Flame suddenly felt intimidated in more ways than one. _What if Julia replaces me with him?!_

"Um, we're headed out to Azalea town," Julia explained, "so if you'd just follow – "

"My Lady Julia, a charming colt such as myself was born to be ridden," insisted Sir Majestic Tail, bowing his head. He disgusted Flame.

"Ah, okay..." Julia picked up Flame, then, a hand on his back, lifted herself up. She used too much power in the jump, however, and she gracelessly swung right off his other flank and onto the ground. Flame had managed to jump off and adjusted herself on his back. Smiling at Julia in encouragement, Flame gestured with her paw for Julia to come sit. Even as she did, she tried not to wince. Sir Majestic Tail's fur chafed against her, and her legs were splayed too far away from each other to let her be even a little comfortable.

Picking herself up off the ground slowly and cringing, Julia led Sir Majestic Tail out of the city, probably to find something she could boost herself up with, or maybe just to get away from the mocking public eye. After the short ride into the route, Flame was fairly certain that she never wanted to ride a Ponyta again.

Julia found a decent-sized rock and clambered onto his back behind Flame, using it as a step-stool. When Flame glanced back at Julia, she was surprised that she looked thrilled rather than uncomfortable. Although Sir Majestic Tail seemed a bit too small to be able to properly carry them both, he began walking forwards easily. Julia fumbled around then put her hands on the sides of his neck, forming a sort of barrier around Flame with her arms.

"Wow, isn't this great, Flame?" she asked excitedly, beaming.

"Yeah, I guess."

Flame was in a terrible position for view. That irritated her. She at least wanted to be able to see where they were going. Sir Majestic Tail kept up a steady trot for a few minutes, his neck flames in Flame's face so much that she found herself leaning to the side a bit. Even though her skin was fireproof, she still didn't like being constantly bombarded with heat.

"Hey, nice Ponyta! Want to show me what he can do in battle?"

Straining to see the Trainer who had spoken, Flame put her paws on Julia's arm and pulled herself up to her hind paws. A boy, who looked a bit younger than –

Her hind legs suddenly collapsed on her, much to her frustration. _Why can't I just be a human? Then I'd be able to see everything around me without having to worry if my legs would hold up my weight!_

Julia got off Sir Majestic Tail's back, then pulled Flame off, too. The other Trainer let a Furret out of a PokéBall who then faced Sir Majestic Tail.

"Hey, I want to battle the guy!" Flame protested, squirming.

"He challenged Sir Majestic Tail to battle," Julia whispered to her. "It would be rude for you to battle."

Sir Majestic Tail turned his head, as if in agreement, then discreetly sneered at Flame. Her eyes widened and she seethed at him. _That bastard! How dare he?! I'm the main Pokémon here!_

"Use Stomp," Julia instructed when the battle began. With as much flair as possible, Sir Majestic Tail lifted his hoof right up and slammed it down on Furret when it tried to Quick Attack. Flame expected the poor thing to be completely smushed, but Furret quickly recovered from the blow, hopping back and awaiting its Trainer's instructions. Apparently having received some, it zigzagged back and forth before pummelling into Sir Majestic Tail with another Quick Attack.

"Now, use Ember!" Sir Majestic Tail shook off the attack like it was nothing and, rearing onto his hind legs, shot fiery-hot embers from who-knows-where at Furret. That attack finished it off, and its Trainer returned it to its Ball before sending out a Noctowl. Sir Majestic Tail also defeated this Pokémon quickly, and the opposing Trainer resignedly handed Julia some prize money. The Ponyta met eyes with Flame, shooting her a brilliant smile. _I hate him._

* * *

The day dragged on forever as they rode down the wide, tree-lined path. Sir Majestic Tail did his absolute best to show off and piss off Flame. Whatever douchebag superpowers he had, he utilized them well. Within a few hours, Flame was so angry that the fire spouts on her neck sputtered constantly until bursting into a true, blazing flame.

Night neared, the sky burnt red with the sun's dying rays, and it became obvious very quickly that they would have to sleep outside somewhere.

"That hollow space under the branches there would make for a most lovely resting place," Sir Majestic Tail suggested, his eyes gleaming. Flame laughed harshly at him.

"Your ass flames'll catch the whole woods on fire," she snapped, darkly glaring at him. Flame heard Julia gasp at Flame's dirty speech, but Sir Majestic Tail had an equally rude comeback.

"True, but your ass size far exceeds mine, so you pose a much greater risk." Flame's eyes welled up in angry tears.

"Well, you know what?" she began furiously, but Julia had had it.

"That's enough, both of you!" she yelled, getting off Sir Majestic Tail's back, grabbing Flame roughly by the scruff of her neck. "Please give us a moment, Sir Majestic Tail." Her voice was sharp, and he seemed to recognize that he was also in trouble, so he nodded, allowing her to return him to his PokéBall.

"Alright, Flame, what is your problem?" Julia snapped, setting Flame on the ground. Flame lifted herself as high as she could on her hind legs, but only managed to make herself half as tall as the human. Despite that shortcoming, she looked desperately up into Julia's eyes.

"He's been taunting me all day, Julia! Don't tell me you haven't noticed!" She sounded like a wailing brat but she didn't care. Flame just wanted Julia to understand. To her surprise, Julia's expression softened and she knelt down to look straight at Flame.

"I know, Flame," she sighed. "I was going to praise you for doing so well all day." Flame's eyes became wet and she wiped a paw against her face. "I'm sorry for not doing anything," Julia added.

"Why didn't you?" Flame whimpered, shaking slightly. "If you saw that I was so upset, why didn't you tell him to cut it out?"

"Neither of us know him too well yet," Julia reminded. "And I think that he might just take some getting used to. I'm sure you'll warm up to him eventually – uh, no pun intended."

Flame smiled sadly. "Yeah, maybe." In truth, she highly doubted that she could ever grow to like that self-obsessed Ponyta, but there wasn't much point in hating on him, either.

Julia straightened and made to let Sir Majestic Tail out of his PokéBall, but Flame quickly reached up and put a paw on Julia's hand.

"I actually did mean it when I said his tail would burn down the forest, Julia." The Trainer cracked a grin and nodded, then let the Pokémon with said tail out. He quickly bowed his head, as if expecting some kind of horrible punishment.

"Sir Majestic Tail," Julia addressed, "I formally ask you to stop tormenting Flame and try to get used to her." He flinched at the commanding tone, but when he looked up to see her playful grin, he relaxed and raised his head again.

"Of course, my Lady," he replied, "I will do my very best." He eyed Flame, who made sure to keep her expression neutral.

"Now that we've got that sorted out," continued Julia, "I do think it would be better if you stayed in your PokéBall overnight. I don't want to risk starting a fire."

"As if having not one, but two fire type Pokémon is not a risk in itself," pointed out Sir Majestic Tail, but he relented. "Whatever you say, my Lady." Julia put him into his PokéBall and put it into her bag, then led Flame to the sheltered are that Sir Majestic Tail had pointed out. She arranged her bag like a pillow and lay down, trying to make herself comfortable. Flame sat down beside her and curled up into a ball, whispering a good night to Julia before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

The desert swirled around Flame as she pushed on. The dream felt too real; the sand whipping across her face got into her eyes and stung her cheeks, the ground beneath her feet constantly slipping.

But she couldn't stop – whatever she was looking for was nearby. She could feel it resonating deep within her chest.

Something stopped her in her tracks. Before her were massive, swirling pits of quicksand. Flame took a small step back, the first time she had done so in any of her dreams. She knew that the only way to the glowing orb was through the quicksand pits, but terror flooded through her. _What if I get stuck, or suffocate? Or get trapped down there forever?_

The dream slid away like a Surskit upon a frozen lake and melted into another. Now she stood in a dull yellow cave, water dripping from the ceiling and down the walls.

_I don't want to be here! Take me home! _she wailed, but there was nobody around to hear her. She was completely alone._ I don't want to search for anything anymore! Help, please!_

"Flame!" Julia's voice echoed through the cavern and Flame looked around.

_Julia? Where are you? Help me!_

"Flame, I'm right here! Wake up!"

Flame's eyes opened to Julia's face right above hers. She yelped and tried to scramble away, but Julia rested a reassuring hand on her chest. Flame breathed hard, feeling the hand rise and fall with her. Her face reddened and she looked to the side. Why did Julia have to act so familiar? They had met only four days ago. She didn't know her that well yet.

Julia seemed to take the hint and backed away, sitting back on her heels.

"You were having a bad nightmare, Flame," she explained. "I'm sorry that I was all up in your face, but I was really worried about you." The Quilava looked into Julia's earnest blue eyes and nodded.

"It's okay, Julia," she assured. "It was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

"So..." Julia paused, frowning at her. "Do you mind telling me what your dream was about? You were shouting about searching for something?"

Flame blinked at her and was about to tell her about the recurring dreams, but clammed up at last second. Something in her didn't want Julia to know. It might freak her out that the dreams started on the day they first met.

"I think I was looking for someone," she lied. "I think Totodile or Chikorita – I mean, Chiki." Julia nodded at her. Something in her expression changed for a second, and Flame swore that she looked disappointed. _About what my dream was about, or Chiki?_ She quickly changed the topic.

"So, how about you? Did you have any dreams?"

"N-no," Julia stammered, "I didn't. Or maybe I did, but I don't remember. I didn't sleep very well." She gestured to the hard dirt below her. Flame narrowed her eyes. Julia wasn't telling the truth, either. But why did they need to lie to each other about their dreams?

* * *

The ride onwards was marginally more enjoyable. This time, instead of sitting in the front where she could see nothing, Flame sat behind Julia with her claws in the back of her blue shirt. It still hurt her legs and crotch to sit like this, but she didn't want to risk standing on Sir Majestic Tail's back and either hurting him, which she wouldn't mind all that much, or falling off and hurting herself, which she would mind very much. Now she was able to see all the rocks and shrubs and, of course, Trainers. An unspoken rule had been made between Sir Majestic Tail and Flame: whoever the Trainer stared at in bewilderment the most would battle. After all, it was one thing to see a Ponyta or a Quilava, but an entirely different thing to see a Ponyta being ridden by someone nearly taller than himself or a Quilava sitting on him with painfully splayed out legs.

It was nearly late afternoon when they finally chanced upon an Oran berry tree. In the moment she saw it, Flame realized how starving she was and was off Sir Majestic Tail and on a branch of the tree in a heartbeat. She grabbed off an Oran berry and munched on it gratefully. Julia got off Sir Majestic Tail and took a berry for herself, feeling it for softness before also eating. The berries were slightly overripe, so they were incredibly juicy. Flame tried very carefully not to spill any on her pelt. It would be an awful pain to wash off.

A Sentret dashed by, nearly causing Flame to drop her berry. Suddenly, some other instinct kicked into gear. Her ears pointed forwards and she jumped off the tree, crouching in the grass on all fours then moving downwind.

"Flame, what in Arceus' name are you doing?" Julia's voice came, but Flame chose to ignore it. The Sentret was very nearby now – Flame could almost taste it. It was probably faster than she was, but if she sprang up on it, she could catch it.

"Are you hunting?!"

The loud noise startled the Sentret and it pelted away – right at Flame. She grabbed it with her paws and bit its throat to kill it before hopping back and licking her lips. She checked her own fur and found, to her immense relief, that it was still clean.

"Gods, Flame! Are you kidding me?" Julia strode over at last and glared at her. "What the heck do you plan on doing with that poor Sentret now?"

"What else? I'm hungry."

Slapping her forehead, Julia muttered, "Honestly? I can't believe it!"

Flame shrugged and began to eat it, but gave Julia a sympathetic look. "If it grosses you out, you don't have to watch me. It's just...I've always eaten meat, so I'm not about to go vegetarian or anything."

Julia waved a hand. "I don't have anything against it, but..." She gave Flame a sorrowful look. "Sometimes, I forget that Pokémon could actually kill each other if they wanted to - even in a normal battle. It scares me more than anything."

Flame stood on her hind legs shakily and said, "Don't worry, Julia. I'm not going to die in battle, got it?" Julia stared at her, as if surprised that Flame had guessed what she was insinuating. "And, for that matter," Flame continued, "I won't let any Pokémon touch you, either."

"Y-yeah," Julia choked out, "okay." She stood and walked slowly back to the Oran berry tree. _What's up with her? _Flame wondered_. Is she still freaked out about the Sentret or about the possibility of me dying in battle?_

* * *

Shortly, the sound of crashing waves could be heard and one side of the route became an inlet, ocean waves crashing at the shore. Above them, standing on thick steel supports, was a metal bridge of sorts. The bridge confused Flame. Why was it so high up and why was it so reinforced?

Julia dismounted Sir Majestic Tail and ran over to a wooden dock, grinning out over the waves. Behind her, Flame half-jumped and half-tumbled off Sir Majestic Tail and followed. The air was salty and the dock slippery. Flame found herself fearfully clinging to the planks of the dock on all fours, but Sir Majestic Tail's whinnying laughter knocked her senses back into her. _If I want to be more like a human, I can't just walk on all fours!_

However, just to be on the safe side, she scuttled away from the dock and onto dry land. She stood on her hind paws and sighed. She wanted to be out there on the dock with Julia, who was poking at the water and waving to the Wingulls.

Something jolted Flame and she yelped, leaping around to see who had attacked her. A Mareep munched on grass for a moment, then gave her a cheeky glance.

"Hey! What was that for?" Flame asked, marching towards her. The Mareep giggled and hopped backwards, a bolt of lightning arcing from her fur at Flame. Flame tried to dodge, but not only was she too slow to evade lightning, she was also the tallest thing in the area. The attack didn't hit hard, hardly penetrating her spark-resistant fur, but it seemed like a sign of aggression.

"You look silly when you stand up like that," bleated Mareep, grinning. "Why would you want to hop around like a Buneary like that when you can just walk on all fours like a normal Quilava?"

Flame clenched her paws into fists. "I wanna be a human!" she proclaimed. "And I can walk on my hind legs, see?" She took a casual step forward, then another, and suddenly she was running – far too quickly. Finally she tripped over her own paws and crashed into the flower bed face-first.

Mareep burst into high-pitched laughter, her fluffy fur sparking as she did so. "Not so good after all, are you? For how long are you going to keep that up?"

Flame picked herself up, shaking her head, then hopped back onto her hind legs. _Maybe this is silly,_ she thought to herself_. I'll never be able to walk like a human_. She began to lower herself back onto her haunches when she heard Julia yell, "You can do it, Flame!" She whirled her head around and saw the Trainer give her a thumbs-up from the dock. A burst of determination filled her and she faced Mareep.

"I'll prove that I can do this in battle!" she declared, the flames on her back and lower back igniting.

"Even your fire doesn't work properly!" chuckled Mareep. Flame peered back at her rump and realized with a start that Mareep was right. Perhaps caused by her simmering anger the day before, the flames were not bursting out like they were supposed to, but rather simply burning, like a bonfire. _As if that's gonna stop me!_

Flame took a few steps forward as quickly as she could manage while retaining control and curled into a ball, rolling quickly at Mareep. With satisfaction, she felt the impact against her head of a successful Flame Wheel. She quickly unfurled and scratched Mareep with outstretched claws, sending her foe tumbling backwards into the steep side of a hill. A rock dislodged and hit Mareep on the head, and she narrowed her playful eyes. Righting herself, she shot a Thunderbolt attack at Flame. It hit her squarely and she collapsed, suddenly unable to move. _Paralysis!_ she thought in horror.

"C'mon, Flame! I believe in you!" Julia's cheerful voice worked like a catalyst. Flame forced herself to push her paws against the ground, her muscles screaming in agony.

"I can...do it..." Flame murmured, then, in one swift movement, stood up again. Without giving Mareep a moment to be shocked, she sent Embers at her, feeling the power behind even the basic attack. Mareep stumbled away, falling over on the ground.

A red and white blur flew in an arc over Flame's head and struck Mareep. Suddenly, Mareep turned into a red bolt and vanished into the item. Julia then ran over, grinning. Flame expected her to run for whatever she threw, but the girl scooped her up, squishing her in a hug.

"You did it, Flame!" she squeaked excitedly. "I'm so proud of you!" Flame's face burned under the praise, turning away slightly.

"It – it was nothing, Julia," she mumbled, but couldn't help but smile. Her Trainer had a certain energy that even made something as insignificant as the defeat of a Mareep a huge achievement.

_Not _my _Trainer_, she reminded herself sadly_. This is just a Trainer that happens to be taking care of me now._

Sir Majestic Tail trotted over and looked at the PokéBall on the ground that now replaced Mareep. Julia seemed to remember that she threw it and went over to pick it up, Flame still dangling in one of her arms.

"Well, now we have a third team member!" Julia told them gleefully. "I think I'll name her Fluffy!"

"How very...original," commented Sir Majestic Tail, raising a white eyebrow. Either Julia didn't notice the back-handed compliment or she didn't care, because she let her new Pokémon out. The newly-named Fluffy looked around in confusion, disoriented. Pulling out a purple spray bottle from her bag, Julia sprayed Fluffy's wounds. The Potion began working immediately, closing the scratch and erasing the burns.

"Welcome to the team, Fluffy!" Julia said. Fluffy replied to that by hitting her with a Thundershock attack.

"Wah!" yelped Flame and threw herself between Julia and Fluffy without hesitation, glaring at the Mareep. Worriedly turning to face the girl, she cried out, "Julia! Are you okay?!"

For a moment, Julia looked stunned, her hair sticking out all over the place, charged with static electricity. Then she shook her head, and replied casually, "Don't worry, Flame, I'm fine!"

Flame's jaw dropped. "Julia, how are you still standing?!"

"It was just a Thundershock. No big deal."

While Flame tried to work out why Julia seemed so nonchalant about being struck with an electric attack and, of course, why she wasn't dead, Fluffy took Julia's being okay as an invitation to hit her again, this time with Thunderbolt. At least, to this one Julia reacted reasonably. She was thrown back into a bush, where she lay for only long enough for Flame to run over to her fearfully. Julia pushed herself up, wincing, and stood unsteadily.

"Alright, Fluffy, that's enough," Julia sighed, returning her to her PokéBall. "Geez, she's a bit feisty, isn't she, Flame?"

"How are you alive?!" Flame squeaked in alarm, her red irises wide. "That attack Paralyzed me, and you say 'she's a bit feisty?!'"

Grinning, Julia shook her head. "Some people are just better at resisting certain attacks. It's not that uncommon, but I guess you'd never had heard of it. It's an evolutionary thing, I guess." Flame had absolutely no idea what she was going on about. _Evolutionary thing? Humans can evolve? But they're not Pokémon! Does that mean they can use attacks, too?!_

"That's correct. Some people are more closely tied to Pokémon." The voice seemed to come from nowhere until a boy appeared in front of them, quite literally. "People like us."

"Where did you – " Flame began panickedly, but he kept talking over her.

"And we seek to change the world. We seek those like us. You..." He held a hand out to Julia, giving her a crooked smile. "...you are just what we are seeking. Join us."


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright! Let's get this story rollin'! I have been doing a terrible job of keeping up with writing these Arceus-damned chapters; anything helps me get motivated, be it a review, a comment - heck, even getting flamed wouldn't bother me at this point! I just need a little bit of incentive to keep writing, or it's likely that my chapters will be uploaded late, with horribly rushed plotlines.**

**Once again, thank you all for taking the time out of your busy internet lives to read my fanfiction, and do enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The cool autumn air ruffled the fur on Julia's face as she and Flame made their way down to Treasure Town. They had been given a special task today to pick up an order of new explorer badges that, supposedly, worked better. Julia didn't understand how the badges could possibly be better or why Chatot or Wigglytuff couldn't just come down themselves to get them. Were they tethered to the Guild or something?

Over the past few weeks, Julia and Flame had gotten used to life at the Guild. Although the morning wake-up call by Loudred and the judgemental glares from Chatot were far from pleasant, the routine of the day and the exploration missions began to feel normal and Julia could truthfully say that she was having a lot of fun. Flame had fallen into place as her best friend, and Bidoof often would accompany them on missions, trying desperately to act as a guide for them. Eventually, they befriended him as well. But given time, Julia figured that they very likely would become friends with everyone at the Guild. The Pokémon training there were all cheerful and kind, and it made Julia wonder about what was continually said of bad Pokémon being everywhere.

Treasure Town was, as always, bustling with activity. There were various shops set up on either side of the road, their colourful tents swaying slightly in the breeze. Across the small wooden bridge over a stream was the Kecleon Market run by two Kecleon brothers, a place where all sorts of items were sold, and where the badge order had come in.

"'Morning, Julia, Flame!" called out one of the shopkeepers, grinning widely at them. "Are you here to pick up the new explorer badges?"

"That's right!" Flame replied. The other Kecleon, coloured purple rather than green, made his way into the storage room then came out carrying a large sack with many little points poking at the sides of the bag. Julia flinched; carrying that was going to be unpleasant.

Just then, an apple rolled up to her paws and she picked it up, looking around to try to figure where it had come from.

"That's my apple!" called out a high-pitched voice. Two blue blobs came into focus as Marill and Azurill, two sprightly little brothers, as they came towards Julia.

"Good morning, guys!" Flame said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"We're doing great, thanks!" Marill squeaked. "Thanks for grabbing Azurill's apple. His paws are made of butter, I'm sure!"

A strange dizzying sensation came over Julia and she nearly stumbled. _What's...going on? I feel dizzy all of a sudden... _Another wave of dizziness washed over her and her vision suddenly went black_. Did I faint? _

Cutting through the darkness was a bright flash of light, then she heard a single, piercing note.

"Aaaiiiiiiiiieeeee!"

Then Treasure Town was back, Azurill in front of her with his paws out, expectantly waiting for her to give him his apple. Mystified, Julia handed it to him.

"Thanks, Julia!" he smiled, then took a big bite from it.

"Kecleon, can I please buy an apple for my mother?" Marill was asking the shopkeepers.

"Why, of course, dear little Marill!" chirped Kecleon. His brother once again went back into the storage and returned with a large apple.

"How about it's on us this time?" he suggested, to which Marill replied, "You're too kind! Thank you so much!" He took the apple then turned to face Azurill. "Come on, Azurill, let's go home now."

"Bye guys!" Azurill squeaked and hurriedly followed his brother away.

"Those kids are so cute!" Flame giggled. "Alright, let's get these badges back the Guild, Julia."

Julia frowned after them for a moment before asking, "Did you hear that scream just now?"

Cocking his head to the side, Flame gave Julia a funny look. "Scream? What scream? I didn't hear anything."

"I distinctly heard a scream. Azurill's, maybe."

"You just imagined it, Julia," Flame shrugged. "Azurill was here the whole time and he didn't scream at all."

Julia nodded, but felt a seed of doubt sprouting within her. She was certain she had heard something when she blacked out. Or maybe her partner was right and she was just imagining it. _What kind of sicko thinks about children's screams? _Julia wondered, then shuddered in mortification._ Hopefully not me!_

"You've brought the new badges? Ah, excellent work!"

When Julia and Flame finally lugged the sack down to the Guildmaster's door, Chatot had popped out to receive it with enthusiasm.

"May I ask what these badges do that our old badges don't?" Flame asked curiously.

"That's none of your business!" Chatot snapped, flapping his wings in a huff. "Well, you have received them faster than I expected, but it's too late in the day to go exploring for long. Take the rest of the day off, and take a new badge, both of you."

Flame pulled the bag open, and it was clear in an instant why these badges were 'better.' While their old badges were bronze in colour, these were _silver_. Of course that was an improvement Chatot approved. Julia put her paw in the bag and took a new badge, Flame doing the same. She handed hers to Flame to keep for safekeeping in his bag, which he defiantly had kept instead of the treasure bag they had been given when they first joined. Although the new bag was far superior, Flame's seemed to have some sentimental value to him.

As the day wore on, Julia found herself becoming increasingly bored, resorting to practicing reading the outlaw notice board. This board was on the other side of the job notice board and worked the same way, except this one had criminals and wanted outlaws instead of lost Pokémon. Flame had tried teaching Julia a few weeks ago to read the script that everything in this area of the world was written in and he practiced with her every night that they weren't too tired. He kept telling Julia that she was doing well, but she wasn't too sure of herself.

"Hey, Julia," Flame greeted as he walked up to her. "What'cha doing?"

"There's a lot of outlaws," Julia suddenly realized.

"Don't worry about it, Julia. Most of these guys are just crooks or bullies."

"I know, I know, but..." She began to feel curiousity tugging at her and continued, "Didn't Chatot say something about a disrupt in the flow of time causing more bad Pokémon to appear? How does that work, anyways?"

Flame paused, as if trying to remember. "Well, I'm not all too sure of it myself, but I think it has to do with some people thinking that this time problem is leading to the end of the world. I guess they stop caring about other Pokémon and just try to save themselves, or they go crazy. Something like that." He waved a paw dismissively, as if what he had just said would not cause Julia to gape at him in shock. "Anyways, want to go back to Treasure Town? We don't usually visit there, so maybe we can find something that we want to buy."

Julia was doubtful that they would be able to even afford anything useful. The Poké, currency of this region, that they earned from jobs went mostly to the Guild - Flame was still pissed at Chatot for that - and most of what they needed, such as food and the restorative Oran berries, could be found in mystery dungeons. But, figuring that they might meet some other exploration teams that had already graduated from Wigglytuff's Guild or some other guild and ask them if they knew anything about humans, Julia agreed.

Flame cheerfully led the way down to Treasure Town. To be absolutely truthful, he really only wanted to go to chat with Team Razor Wind, a powerful team made up of Zangoose, Scyther, and Sandslash. Perhaps they had discovered more treasure, or a new mystery dungeon. On their last exploration, they had brought back heaps of loot, including old relics and lots of gold. Zangoose kept bragging that they were the new Team Charm for weeks afterwards.

Soon, they were in town. To Flame's immense disappointment, Team Razor Wind wasn't anywhere to be found. With a sigh, he led Julia over to the Kecleon brothers' shop tent.

"Back so soon, you two?" asked the purple Kecleon, his eyes glinting in amusement.

"But of course!" chuckled the other. "It's only natural, since are personalities are so attractive!"

Flame rolled his eyes at the lame pun, then asked, "So, what good items do you have in stock today?"

"We have many!" both brothers claimed. "Just tell us what you'd like!"

"Julia?" Flame asked turning his head to his partner. She just shrugged and shook her head. What Flame found out about her very quickly was that she wasn't a very big talker. She seemed to be content with Flame making decisions and speaking in her place. Sure, once she got into a conversation, she chatted away, but she otherwise just listened quietly. Flame liked that about her - he enjoyed telling her stories and legends about himself and the world; respectively, of course. The best part was that she shared in his enthusiasm about folklore, possibly due to the fact that she still didn't know this world very well.

Flame tried to think of an item that might be useful to them to ask the Kecleon brothers about, but his thoughts were interrupted by the running in of Marill and Azurill.

"Mister Kecleon," Marill panted worriedly, "do you have any Gabite scales?"

The green Kecleon frowned and replied, "Sorry, Marill, but we don't stock those. Why do you need one?"

This time, Azurill spoke, his sweet little voice twisted with fear. "It's our mother, Misters Kecleon. She's getting worse. Marill says...Marill says..." His wide eyes filled with tears and he burst out, "He says she's gonna die!" Flame recoiled in horror. It was not a little-known fact that the mother of the brothers was often ill; that was why they always went out to Treasure Town on their own - to run her daily errands. By doing this, Marill and Azurill became quite self-dependant and capable of handling themselves. They still did need their mother, though, to take care of them. But could she really have gotten so sick that she was going to die?!

"Oh, Arceus..." the purple Kecleon murmured, his eyes softening. "We're so sorry, boys. There's nothing that we can do." Marill put a paw on Azurill's head as his brother wept, then turned to Flame.

"What about you?" he asked, looking hopeful. "Do you know where I could find a Gabite's scale?" It was as if a stone dropped in Flame's chest. He had no idea where to find a Gabite's scale. In fact, he had never even met a Gabite.

Crestfallen, he shook his head, closing his eyes. He didn't want to see the expression of defeat on the brothers' faces. Luckily, he didn't have to.

"I may be able to help, if you would allow me."

Flame raised his head to look at who spoke. A Drowzee stood behind the boys, his half-closed eyes kind. Marill's eyes widened and he cried out gratefully, "Really?! Oh, thank you, Drowzee!"

"I've met your mother before; she's a very sweet lady, and she loves you very much. I would not want you to be separated." He held out a paw to them and continued, "On the peak of Mount Bristle, there lives a Gabite. I'm certain I could persuade him to give you one of his scales."

"You'd...you'd really do all that for us?" sniffled Azurill, wiping away his tears.

"Of course. If you'd like, I'll take you with me to Mount Bristle to get the Gabite scale."

"Thank...thank you so much!" squeaked Azurill, taking Drowzee's paw and letting the taller Pokémon lead them away. As they walked away, Drowzee accidentally bumped into Julia's side.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," Drowzee said to her, then continued on. Flame stared after him with adoration.

"What a great guy!" he exclaimed, beaming. "He's actually going out of his way to get a Gabite scale for Azurill's and Marill's mom!" Flame turned to Julia, then noticed something was off with her. She stumbled backwards, putting her paws against her head as if she had a headache. Her eyes closed tightly, then she looked like she would fall over.

"Julia!" Flame yelped, dashing forward to grab her before she fell. _She seems to be prone to getting dizzy,_ he noted. Before he could think of anything else, her eyes opened and she cried out in alarm, shocking Flame with a bolt of electricity.

"Hey! Why'd you - " began Flame, backing away, but Julia suddenly cried out, "I saw Drowzee! And he was threatening Azurill!"

Flame grabbed her shoulders and yelled, "Get a grip, Julia! Calm down!" He held her like that for another moment until her heavy breathing slowed down. Closing her eyes slightly, she tried again.

"Flame, you're not going to believe me, but...I saw Drowzee and Azurill standing, on the top of a mountain, I think, and Drowzee said that he was going to do bad things to Azurill if he didn't listen to him." She hung her head as Flame thought it over.

"Well, that is kind of weird," he pointed out cautiously. "Did you say you saw that?" Julia nodded, an odd look of terror in her eyes. "It sounds like you had a daydream, or something. I mean, you obviously didn't just see it with your eyes. And besides," he added hastily, not wanting to sound like he was accusing her of being crazy, "we just saw Drowzee offer to help the boys get a Gabite scale for their mom. The way he talked, he sounded really earnest." For a moment, Julia looked as if she wanted to protest, but she sighed.

"You're probably right, Flame," she agreed. "I have been hearing things lately, too. Maybe I just need more sleep. Oh, and..." Her face turned red with embarrassment. "Sorry about jolting you. I was just shocked."

"No, I was shocked!" Flame laughed. Julia seemed to brighten a little at his lousy pun. "Why don't we go back to the Guild for now? I don't really have much else to do here, anyways." His partner smiled and nodded, then led the way back. It seemed that she didn't need to be in Treasure Town, either.

By the time that they returned, the light of day was already beginning to fade. Flame noted with frustration that they would have had enough time to squeeze in another expedition had they not idled around and gone to Treasure Town. They were halfway down the first ladder when they heard a loud bang come from inside the upper underground floor. Flame scurried into the room to see what was going on, then noticed that all of the Pokémon in the room were staring at the outlaw notice board. The board was blank and a voice called out, "Updating in progress! Please hold!"

Of course, Flame knew what this was. Once or twice, he had seen this happen with the notice boards; when a new request came in, Dugtrio, Diglett's father and helper at the Guild, flipped the board from behind the wall to update it with whatever new request the Guild received. After a moment, the board flipped again, showing a new slip of paper. Some members of the Guild wandered over to read it, but nobody took it.

Flame, too, came forward to read it, squinting. Then he stepped back, clenching his paws into fists.

_I...I can't believe it! Julia...was right!_

The face drawn on the new request was none other than Drowzee, and he was charged with the kidnapping of Azurill.

"Flame, what's the matter?" Julia asked him worriedly, putting a paw on his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed that he had begun to tremble in rage. He glared up at the note.

"Look at that, Julia! On the request!" She frowned at it for a moment, then gasped.

"No way! Drowzee?!" Julia's cheek pouches crackled with furious electricity. "Then you know what we have to do?"

Flame nodded, growling, "We're going after him!" He snatched up the paper without hesitation and, gesturing to Julia, ran for the ladder.

"Hey hey hey, Flame, Julia!" cried out Corphish behind them. "It's too late in the day for you to take another mission! And he's all the way out in Mount Bristle! You two aren't experienced enough to take on such a dungeon alone!" But they were already too far away to hear him.

The moment they made it to the crossroads at the base of the stairs leading down from the Guild, Flame realized that Mount Bristle was indeed too far away. They would never make it in time to help Azurill, let alone by nightfall.

"You two look like you're in a rush!" Flame looked up and saw a pair of Pelippers circling above them lazily.

"Azurill has been kidnapped by Drowzee and taken all the way to Mount Bristle!" Flame called up to them.

"So we've heard," squawked the other Pelipper. "We were just headed over there ourselves to see if we couldn't do something to help. Need a lift?"

"Oh, yes please!" Julia cried out gratefully. The Pokémon flew down, and Julia quickly hopped on one of their backs. Flame was not so eager, though; he didn't feel safe off the ground, and being on the back of a water type Pokémon would do nothing to soothe his nerves. However, he thought of little Azurill, and, tightly shutting his eyes, also climbed on a Pelipper's back. Their lifts beat their wings powerfully and soon they were soaring through the air, wind harshly rushing past Flame's face.

When he finally allowed himself to open his eyes and look down, he couldn't help but be awed by the sight. Forests and mountains passed by below them, tiny as grains of sand on the beach. Flame glanced over at Julia to find that she also wore an expression of excitement.

"Wow! This is amazing!" she yelled over the hiss of the wind. "We're going so fast!"

"Hey, Julia," Flame began, raising his voice so that he could be heard, "for how long have you been seeing and hearing the future?" Julia looked so startled by the question that she loosened her grip on Pelipper and flew straight off. Before Flame could so much as squeak in surprise, Pelipper swooped down gracefully and caught her.

"Did you really think for even a moment that we'd let you fall?" chuckled her ride, his eyes twinkling as he rose back into the sky.

Blushing furiously, Julia muttered something that Flame couldn't hear. He tried to ask her for her answer to his question, but his own Pelipper began dropping in altitude, so he had to hang on tighter. They seemed to be zeroing in on a mountain peak, heading almost straight for it. Hang on, Azurill, Flame thought determinedly, we're almost there!

They were within fifty metres of the peak when a shrill scream cut through the air. The Pelippers were jarred so badly that they came to a near-instant halt, effectively tossing off both the riders.

"Wwwaaaaahhhhh!" Flame wailed as he tumbled through the air. A moment later, he plopped onto his Pelipper's back again, but he was winded. _That was close!_

A voice, distinctively Drowzee's, floated down the mountain and Flame began to hear it.

"Oh, don't be difficult, Azurill. If you don't do exactly as I ask, there will be truly awful consequences for you. I could do all sorts of nasty things to you..." Flame could take it no more, his rage finally exploding when they rose above the side of the mountain to the flat peak, where he could see Azurill, pinned down on the ground, and Drowzee leaning closely over him.

"Stop it right now!" Flame yelled, attracting Drowzee's attention. "Let Azurill go!"

Beside him, Julia leapt off Pelipper and onto the ground, and Flame quickly did the same, turning to face the criminal. The Pelippers beat their wings right above the two partners; somehow, their presence was reassuring.

Drowzee chuckled, watching Flame through amused half-open eyes. "Don't interfere, you pathetic little losers, or you'll be fucked next." Panic filled Flame as he realized what Drowzee was insinuating.

"You... What did you do to Azurill?!" screamed Flame, fire erupting on his back. "Get away from him, you monster!"

Wasting no time, Julia suddenly dashed forward and rammed Drowzee with an electrified Quick Attack. Drowzee was quick, too, though, and he grabbed her by the tail and flung her against a boulder. A red trickle of blood ran down her fur.

_No! Not Julia!_

"That's it, Drowzee! You've just crossed the line!" Flame curled into a ball and, coating himself in fire, rolled at the foe with supercharged speed. The instant he made contact, he was thrust back by a powerful Psychic attack. He slammed into the ground and skidded backwards, scrabbling to get a hold on the rock face. His hind legs were suddenly dangling over open air as he managed to grip a jut in the rock.

Powerful blasts of water could be heard, and he figured those were from the Pelippers, but he could do nothing but struggle to climb back up. Terror filled him and he realized that he was slipping, to fall off the edge and shatter like a twig against the rocks below. Flame shut his eyes tightly, attempting futilely to keep his pawhold, when he felt strong paws pulling him up. He opened his eyes and there was Julia lifting him forwards, panting from the effort. At last, he was up, and he fell gracelessly into Julia, knocking her over.

"Th-thank you," he squeaked, scrambling off her chest. He could feel his face becoming hotter, but this was no time to think about that. Azurill still needed rescuing.

The battle looked grim. Drowzee still wore the same placid expression, psychically throwing the Pelippers against the ground. At the same time, Azurill was pinned against the ground by psychic energy and he looked wildly at Julia and Flame, his eyes pleading. _We need to help him, but how? _Flame wondered_. Drowzee is too strong for us, and Julia is hurt - badly._ Her entire back was splattered in blood, much to Flame's concern.

"I know," Julia murmured to her partner. "You attack Drowzee from the front and I'll come at him from the back. That way, he'll have a harder time hitting us both."

"Right," Flame agreed, and they split up. The last remaining Pelipper finally collapsed on the ground, out of energy - not a very comforting sight. However, overpowering his misgivings with determination, Flame charged at Drowzee, hurling Embers one after another. As expected, Drowzee caught Flame in a Psychic attack, but before he could hurl him away again, an electric blast, followed by a strong tackle, hit him, sending Drowzee sprawling. He didn't get up.

"Did he...faint?" Flame inquired, confused. "But he seemed so relaxed!"

"I guess that was a facade," Julia shrugged. "Azurill...are you alright?" Flame suddenly remembered the little kid, and he was overcome with emotion.

"What did Drowzee do to you?" he whispered, terrified of the answer.

Azurill trembled, but replied in a firm voice, "He just brought me up here. I thought that we were going to get the Gabite scale, but then he knocked out my brother and forced me to come up here. He wanted me to pull out an item from that crack in the wall." Azurill pointed, and Flame saw that there was indeed a crack in the wall. "He couldn't fit in there himself because he was too big. Then when I said 'no,' he told me that he would do something bad to me if I wouldn't help him. Then you guys showed up." His eyes suddenly shone and he pounced at both of them, squishing them in a hug. "You saved me! Thank you!"

He then ran to each half-fainted Pelipper and hugged them each in turn. "And you guys also! Thank you all so much!"

"We were glad to help, kid," one of them said hoarsely, grinning. "How about we get you home now and turn in Drowzee to Officer Magnezone?" He looked back apologetically to Flame and Julia. "We'll come back for you right after, I promise." The two birds each grabbed one of Drowzee's arms and Azurill climbed on the back of the one who had spoken. They lifted off and in another moment, they were but a small speck in the distance.

By now, the sun had fully set and stars were beginning to appear. Flame closed his eyes, then turned to Julia.

"Your wound...it looks bad. Are you okay?" She blinked at him, frowning.

"It hurts, yeah. My back, that is. I was afraid that I'd broken it when I hit that rock." Her voice suddenly became worried. "And you? Did you get hurt at all?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks to you." Flame winced and continued, "Thanks for saving me. I was sure that I was a goner!"

Julia smiled faintly, then looked at the darker patch of sky, where the sliver of moon shone as brightly as it could. She sighed heavily then sat down on her rump, staring out at it. Her partner sat next to her silently.

"Are you thinking about your past again?" Flame asked softly, watching his paws.

"Yeah. I wonder...if I knew about this seeing the future thing. Maybe I knew how to use it, too, to help people, like today."

As much as Flame wanted to comfort Julia, he didn't know how. After all, he knew where he came from. _And...I don't want her to remember her past, _he thought guiltily._ If she goes home, I'll be left all alone, just like before._ He stole a glance at her. Julia sat close to him, her head hung slightly. He could just put his paw on her shoulder, or even hold her paw... Flame steeled himself for a moment, then at last second decided not to.

_Coward! _he chided himself_. Your fear of the Guild nearly stopped you from joining! Why can't I even muster up the courage to touch her?!_

Unexpectedly, Julia leaned against Flame, her eyes closing slightly. Flame blushed furiously, having no idea what to do. She sighed again, glancing up into his eyes with her bright blue ones.

"I'm sorry, Flame," she murmured. "I'm always such a pain in the ass about my past. I'm never thinking about how you might feel about that. It must get pretty annoying, huh?"

"N-no! Not at all!" Flame sputtered, only getting redder in the face. "You're always listening to me ramble, so this is no problem for me at all! Ah, wait! That is, I'm not saying that you ramble or anything - " _Stop screwing this up!_

A soft giggle came from Julia and she smiled at him. "Thank you. You're the best friend anyone could ask for." Flame's panic melted and he relaxed, resting his head against hers.

"You, too, Julia."

Flame and Julia had fallen asleep like that, pressed together, when the Pelippers returned for them. Blearily, they climbed onto their backs and let the Pokémon fly them slowly back to the Guild. Chatot had come with them to make sure they were all right and to scold them for running out so late and without warning, but upon laying eyes on them, sleeping so peacefully, he decided to save it for the morning. They reminded him of himself a bit, when he, too, had just started at a guild, similar to the one they went to now.

He flew behind the Pelippers and thanked them for all they had done once they reached the Guild. Faced with the problem of somehow getting them into their beds without waking them, if possible, he had the Pelippers deposit them near the entrance and puzzled for a while after they left until Wigglytuff came out. Without needing to let Chatot explain the situation, he easily picked them both up, one in each paw, and climbed down both ladders using only his feet. Chatot was, once again, left to marvel at the extent of his Guildmaster's capabilities.

The two put to bed at last, Wigglytuff bid Chatot an overly cheerful 'good-night' and retired to his room for the night. Chatot flew up both of the ladder tunnels to sit in his usual place on the top rung of the top ladder. He had found it necessary to guard the exit after Sneasel, a previous student at the Guild, kept trying to sneak out after hours; yet his sleeping arrangement now was immensely less comfortable than his previous one. _When one wants to do good for the Guild, one must give up personal comforts sometimes, _he convinced himself._ But if this is the best way, then why do I so often feel empty?_

Trying to ignore his doubts, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**First of all, I've noticed that many people are just reading the most recent chapter without reading any of the previous ones first. That's not how you do it! You have to read the chapters in order! =x=**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Thank you for following and/or liking the story, and as usual, reviews, suggestions, and critiques are a few of my favourite things, so please feel free to take a few seconds to write a review. ^w^**

* * *

For a few moments, Julia couldn't speak. Who was this boy? Where did he come from? What did he want with her?

The boy in question was dressed oddly, clothed in a tight violet shirt and pants that flared out at the bottom. A cape fluttered in the breeze behind him and he wore a mask. On his shirt was a large black F.

"Well?" he persisted. "Will you join us?" Julia took a step back, frowning at him.

"What are you talking about? Who's 'us?'"

The corners of his mouth turned up and he gave a little bow.

"I am of Team Fury, and we have devoted our lives to making the world a better place. All of us have some powers of Pokémon, whether we were born with them or had them given to us. So, do you have an answer for me?"

Just as Julia opened her mouth to speak, Flame growled from beside her.

"Piss off! Julia's not going to join your team! So just leave her alone!"

The boy raised an eyebrow and told her, "Very, very rude. Shouldn't you let your Trainer make her own decisions? Or do you like ruling over her, _Flame_?" The last word came out in a sneer and Flame bristled.

"How do you know my name?" she hissed, pinning her ears back, but he wasn't finished speaking.

"I think it's selfish of you to think that Julia will always be with you. After all, you aren't even her Pokémon. The moment Noah finds you, you will have to return to him." Suddenly, something clicked in Julia's mind.

_Of course! This boy has psychic powers! That's how he teleported to us and how he can read Flame's mind!_

"Very perceptive," he added to Julia, smiling. "If you were to join us, I have no doubt that you will become a valuable asset. Being able to resist electric attacks so well just about marks you as a ground type; there are very few of those in Team Fury."

"A ground type?" Julia asked, then shook her head. "No way! I'm not a ground type!"

"What are you talking about?!" Flame burst out. "You guys aren't Pokémon, you're humans! Those are two very different species!"

The mysterious boy threw his head back in a laugh, then turned and began walking away. "You really believe that nonsense? Look at Darkrai, or Gallade. Humans and Pokémon are one and the same, but most humans are just normal types." He locked eyes with Julia and finished, "I will see you soon. Then, you can tell me what your final answer is." There was a bright flash and he vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Flame growled menacingly at where he had been, "And don't you come back!" She looked back at Julia sullenly. "Let's go now." She led the way onwards, her paws clenched into fists._ What's gotten into her? _Julia wondered, calling out to a startled Sir Majestic Tail._ The guy didn't seem so bad, and maybe if I join Team Fury, I'll find out more about that vision that I had and what it means_.

Deciding that it was probably okay to let Fluffy out again, Julia pulled out her PokéBall and sent the Mareep out. Fluffy regarded her with a long look, then turned her head away ever so slightly. Sir Majestic Tail flashed a flirty grin at her, an act that seemed to justify, in her mind, shocking him as well._ This is ridiculous,_ Julia sighed, and mounted Sir Majestic Tail, getting a small static shock from his fur.

Not long after, they reached a large hill of rock with a large opening in its side. A nearby signpost read: "Union Cave ahead – watch out for Zubats!" Julia dismounted Sir Majestic Tail and led the way in. Flame stayed close behind her, her head kept down.

The cave was dark, but Sir Majestic Tail's fiery mane lit up the narrow passage. However, the stretch of tunnel didn't go for long enough to give Julia claustrophobia, and it opened up into a larger area with pools of water filling up holes in the ground. Underfoot, the hard-packed earth sank slightly with Julia's every step and she had to keep hopping around patches of wet mud. Flame kept her face in a scowl, but it was a weak expression; she trembled slightly and her eyes darted from side to side as she watched out for suspicious movement. Perhaps the wet cave was enough to dampen her foul mood.

"Oh, oh, oh!" lamented Sir Majestic Tail, high-stepping with a petrified expression. "My hooves – my lovely hooves – are being filthied! My lady Julia, was there no other route to Azalea town? Perhaps, a less muddy one?"

"Sorry," Julia sighed, "but this is the only one. Besides, the Union Cave isn't that long."

"But – but my hooves, my lady! You must understand! And curse this cream-coloured fur! If it gets stained, I'll have to take a bath! Really, with water and everything!" He shuddered delicately, lifting his head higher. "However, if this is the only way, I must endure, if not for my lady..."

"You think you have it rough, Fire-Butt?" Flame asked boldly, trying to stop quivering. "At least you have hooves – there's muck between my toes! But really, this cave gives me a weird feeling. We'd better be close to – "

At that moment, a swarm of Zubats swooped down from the ceiling, startled by her loud growls. Flame squeaked in alarm and, perhaps due to tripping over a stone or clot of dirt, fell face-first into the mud. Smothering a giggle, Julia quickly pulled her out. Flame looked down at her stomach fur and cried out in alarm.

"Shit! My fur! It's – oh, Arceus! I'm all muddy!" It was true – from her neck to her legs, her fur stuck out in dark clumps that dripped slowly to the ground.

Sir Majestic Tail gave her a smug look at her distress, which she, unfortunately, saw.

"You think this is funny?! My fur on my stomach is the same colour as yours! Now I look like a Furret or something!"

That comment prompted the Ponyta to burst into raucous laughter. Flame leered at him then picked up a pawful of mud. Fluffy, who had skirted away from the Zubats, now gasped in horror as she watched the mud fly in a graceful arc and splat against Sir Majestic Tail's flank.

"No! Nooo! Noooooo! My – my lovely coat!" He stomped the ground in fury, kicking more mud at Flame. "You filthy little Sneasel! Look what you've done!"

"Hang on a second!" Julia protested, but what had started could not be stopped. Flame hissed and hurled another pawful of mud. This time, she missed, and the lump hit Fluffy instead.

"Wah! Are you trying to kill me with that?!" she screeched. "Bitch, please!" Fluffy Thunderbolted the ground at Flame's paws, sending filth flying everywhere, including onto Julia.

"Ewww! Fluffy, really? That's overkill!" wailed Julia, stepping back from the mess. Sir Majestic Tail, who had also been hit by that splash of mud, turned on Fluffy now, too. Soon, a three-way mud war began between the Pokémon, blocking the path for the other, now inconvenienced Trainers, who tried to pass through.

Over an hour later, the four emerged from Union Cave, all equally caked in mud. Conveniently, Route 33 was in the middle of a downpour.

"Fuck you both," Flame snarled, glaring at Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy as the dirt slid down her body in the rain. "Hey, Julia, I can tell that we're all gonna get along just fine."

"Shut up," Julia snapped. She never realized that it was possible to hate anything to do with the ground type this much. In the end, she had lost her temper and joined in on the fight while trying to move them closer to the exit. Each of them had been knocked into a pool of dirty water at least twice during the fight, doing nothing to calm their tempers.

Now, Fluffy frolicked about in the rain, looking infuriatingly pleased, while Flame continued to skulk and Sir Majestic Tail wailed in high-pitched whinnies.

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no! My tail! It's gone out! And my mane, too! Oh, the horror and irony of this situation! I've stepped from one disaster into another! Lady Julia, fetch me an umbrella or palm leaf or something of the sort to shelter me!" He paused, then corrected, "No, I could not send a lady out to do such a nasty task! Flame, get me a towel right this instant!"

"I'm a lady, too!" Flame roared at him, showing him her fists.

"Really? Well, you remind me of a little peasant boy. You certainly don't act like a lady, my sweet little dishcloth."

Fluffy took that opportunity to hit him again with a Thunderbolt. "Shut your overly massive trap before any more Blitzle-shit spews out," she suggested. Flame raised an eyebrow at Fluffy, who promptly sidled up to her. "I've decided that us ladies must stick together to defend ourselves from egotistical bastards."

"When did you all start using such harsh language?" Julia questioned, glaring. Even though they didn't speak the same language, it was easy to tell when something inappropriate was said.

"Oh, we were dirtied in the cave," Fluffy put, smiling pleasantly. Rolling her eyes, Julia motioned for her Pokémon to follow behind her as she walked along the path.

"W-wait! I have used no foul language of any sort!" protested Sir Majestic Tail, then, realizing that he was being left behind, dashed after them, crying out, "Waaaiiiit for meeee!"

* * *

The rain shower had ended by the time Julia and her entourage had climbed the hill up to Azalea town, a quaint little place where most houses still had thatched roofs. Near the entrance to the town was a sign that read "Slowpoke Well" and pointed down a wooden staircase with railings that descended in a square into a pit. _Who would have thought that a well would make it as an attraction? _wondered Julia._ What sane person goes into a muddy old well for any reason, anyways?_

A boy with purple hair wearing a bug-catcher's clothes knelt near the base of a tree, studying a Scatterbug with a magnifying glass. Julia had never seen a real Scatterbug before; they were native to Kalos. _So what's it doing here in Johto?_

Suddenly, the boy looked up and grinned at her.

"Hey! Glad you could make it to Azalea town! You still owe me a battle!"

Julia blinked at him in confusion for a moment, then remembered who he was. This was the same guy who saved her and Flame at the Ruins of Alph; didn't he say he was a Gym Leader?

"So, I didn't catch your name last time. Oh, yeah, and I'm Bugsy, in case you forgot," he added with a wink.

"That's Julia and I'm Flame," Flame instantly introduced, casting a sneaky grin at Julia. _That little – ! She's introduced us again! Nobody ever catches my name when she says it!_

Surprisingly, Bugsy nodded in understanding and repeated, "Julia and Flame, huh? Pleasure, misses. And who are these two?"

"Fluffy and Fire-Butt," Flame said, looking to each in turn. Sir Majestic Tail was aghast.

"Why, I never! That's Sir Majestic Tail to you, you soulless plastic bag!"

Bugsy laughed, his eyes lighting up. "Well, aren't you a fun bunch! You're lucky, Julia!"_ I wouldn't say 'lucky' – more like 'doomed.'_

"You all look pretty soaked through. Quite a downpour that was, eh? Wanna dry up with a quick battle at my Gym?" suggested Bugsy, raising a hopeful eyebrow.

"What – right now?" She had been hoping to get something to eat first, since all she had had on the journey to Azalea town was a couple of oran berries and she was incredibly thirsty.

"Of course! There's no time like the present!" He waved an arm and began walking into town. "Follow me to the Gym!" Julia supposed she had no choice but to follow, casting a don't-you-dare-get-into-a-fight-with-each-other glare at her Pokémon. They looked back at her innocently.

Bugsy's Gym looked exactly like Falkner's from the outside with the exception that the roof was olive green coloured instead of light blue. Inside, the two Gyms couldn't be more different. Trees grew out of the floor, which was really just hard-packed dirt, and bushes and vines covered much of the walls. From the ceiling spouted a massive honeycomb that had many Combees buzzing about it. In fact, there were bug type Pokémon everywhere – Venipedes scuttling about through the grasses; Weedles climbing up trees; Beautiflies and Vivillons, the latter of which with wings of unimaginable different patterns and colours, fluttering through the air. Julia was awed and slightly terrified at the same time. It was like being in the wild – chances were, some Spinarak was going to crawl up her leg when it thought she wasn't looking.

"Well? Like it?" questioned Bugsy, his eyes bright. "It's a real forest in here, isn't it? I wish I could say I came up with all this, but the Gym Leader before me did most of it. Still, I put in some bugs from Unova and Hoenn...and Kalos, too!" He pranced forwards gleefully, and held his arm out for a massive blue-winged Vivillon to land on it. "Aren't these Vivillons just stunning? I'll have to get Burgh to paint me with some of 'em."

Flame was watching a Caterpie munch on a leaf when she announced, "I'm hungry."_ Seems like I'm not the only one_, Julia thought, then decided that if Flame was also running on empty, it was a far better idea to eat something before they did anything else.

"I love your Gym – nice touch, the Vivillons – but we weren't very well-prepared when we set off from Violet city and I think it would be best for us to go eat before we battle," Julia explained sheepishly. "Would you mind?"

Bugsy grinned then waggled a finger. "You are a new Trainer! I'd figured! Well, if you're hungry, why don't I take you out?" He raised an eyebrow mischievously, adding, "You're bound to beat me with Flame and Sir Fancypants anyways, so it'll be my treat – as long as I owe you no prize money after our battle. Sound good?" Giggling, Julia smiled back at him.

"Alright, why not? I think I'll take up your offer."

Sir Majestic Tail cleared his throat impatiently.

"Oh, right, and my Ponyta's name is actually – "

" – Sir Fire-Butt," Flame interrupted, exchanging a sneaky look with Fluffy. Sir Majestic Tail looked thoroughly appalled.

"Hehe, Flame, you're quite the feisty thing, aren'tcha?" Bugsy said, beaming. "I think I quite like you! I will mind a bit less if you do battle my sweet little flutterbugs. And you – " He turned to Sir Majestic Tail. " - you seem quite proper! I like that!" Fluffy waited to be acknowledged, but upon discovering that that was not going to happen, she let loose a blast of electricity at Bugsy. The unsuspecting kid cried out when he was hit, then righted himself firmly.

"And, er, Fluffy, I think?" He coughed briefly. "You're totally powerful!" He gave her a thumbs-up. Fluffy seemed to be satisfied with this and pretended to lose interest and bounced off in pursuit of a Butterfree. Flame gave Bugsy an odd look, cocking her head sideways.

"So, can all humans withstand electric attacks?" she asked.

"Not at all, not at all!" Bugsy disagreed. "Only some can – those who are resistant to electric attacks, and that's not everyone. All people have a type; most are normal type, but there are lots of psychic types and fighting types. I myself am a grass type – that's why I'm such a big nature lover!"

"Ahem," Julia cut in, "while that's all very interesting, we're not any less starving. Could we...?"

Bugsy seemed to realize that he was beginning to ramble, and he quickly caught himself. "Of course! Let's go!" He dashed away towards the doors, then remembered Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail. "You can leave your other Pokémon here – plenty of grass for them to graze on!"

Julia nodded, glancing at those two. Fluffy was happily occupied and Sir Majestic Tail was attempting to converse with a Galvantula, unsuccessfully. _They should be okay for a half hour or so_. Self-reassured, Julia motioned to Flame and followed Bugsy.

* * *

During the meal, Bugsy talked incessantly, often more off-topic than on, and laughing at his own puns. Julia listened and smiled as she ate, but Flame, sitting protectively next to her, was silent. He was too cheerful, too free-spirited, and too likeable. Flame refused to allow herself to like him. Something that she just couldn't put her paw on, buried deep in the darkest depths of her mind, marked him as a threat.

_But he's not a threat, _Flame argued with herself_. After we battle him tonight, we'll leave Azalea town tomorrow morning and never see him again. Besides, the guy saved us – if anything, he would be an asset, an ally, not a danger to Julia or myself._ Still, that little something nagged at her, like a thin red string tied around her finger, tugging insistently. There was something, something that should have been blatantly obvious, that she was forgetting. It really bothered her.

"...when Team Fury paid me a visit!"

Bugsy's voice cut into Flame's thoughts at the mention of Team Fury. Flame pinned her ears back and she narrowed her eyes, listening more intently.

"Team Fury?" Julia was asking, looking thoughtful. "Oh, that's right! There was a guy that came to us today and he said something about Team Fury. What about them?"

Glancing from side to side to make sure that nobody was listening in, Bugsy leaned in closer over the table, inches from Julia's face. Flame bristled in agitation and had to resist the urge to shove his face away with both paws.

"They say that Team Fury is a group made up of people with Pokémon-like powers. Nobody knows what they're doing or why, but one thing is for certain – there's lots of them, and they're still recruiting more people. Whatever they're planning, it's big." He had an oddly serious expression on his face, and he added in a barely audible whisper, "Just between you and me, I think they're up to no good, no matter what they say. I turned down their offer to join them. Did you?"

Julia blinked, leaning back in her chair. Bugsy pulled away, too; the action lifted a weight off Flame's chest. _Alright, Flame, cut it out! It's not like he was going to do anything to her!_ Flame grabbed a piece of no longer warm meat from her plate with her claws and chomped it viciously, not sure whether she was more upset with Bugsy or herself.

"How did you know that the guy asked me to join them?" Julia inquired, crossing her arms.

"The fact that they came to you at all is a dead giveaway," Bugsy replied, "but Flame seemed to think earlier that all humans can resist electric type attacks. Being that Fluffy seems to like shocking people, I can guess that you were electrocuted with no ill effects."

Julia grinned at him, giggling. "Are you a detective or something?"

Bugsy responded with another tricky eyebrow waggle. "You never know – maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Or maybe I'm just perceptive."

The satisfying thought of chucking the meat at the boy's face Flame quickly dismissed as a bad idea.

At that moment, Bugsy caught Flame's eye and she quickly turned her head away, cringing. She really didn't want to dislike him, yet she somehow felt that way. Bugsy gave her a small smile then closed his eyes.

"Sorry for stealing Julia from you, Flame," he chuckled. "You can have her back now. Julia..." He redirected his attention towards her, continuing, "I'll take my leave now. I've finished eating, anyways. See you guys at the Gym!" Standing up and tucking his chair away, Bugsy practically skipped out of the restaurant, tossing a grin over his shoulder at Julia.

Julia's eyebrows creased together in a frown and she asked Flame skeptically, "What was that about? What did he mean by 'stealing me away' from you?"

"Uh, well, I guess..." Flame had no words to respond to that. Bugsy was insinuating something, that was for sure. Did he think that Flame was...jealous? _That's preposterous! What reason do I have to be jealous of him? All he did was brag and flirt a little! _Slowly, a realization formed in Flame's mind._ I've gotten attached to Julia?! But we've only known each other for a few days! And besides, she's not my Trainer! When she returns me to Noah, I can't miss her, not even a little bit!_

"Never mind," Julia interrupted Flame's thoughts. "Bugsy already paid the bill, so let's go. Hey, you left, like, half your meal!" She reached over Flame and took the half-eaten piece of meat, then smiled at her. "Mind if I finish this for you?"

"Wah – ! That can't be sanitary!" Flame protested.

"Oh, stop worrying. We're friends, aren't we? And as you know, friends always finish each other's sandwiches!" Feeling as though she won that argument, Julia ate the rest of the meat. Flame silently vowed never to eat any raw meat ever again, for Julia's sake.

* * *

The two Trainers faced each other, each with equal expressions of determination. Their Pokémon surrounded them in battle-ready stances.

"Our battle...is now underway!" Bugsy called out, pumping his fist. "Let's do this! Whirlipede, you're up first!" A large purple Whirlipede rolled out in front of him, leering at Fluffy, Flame, and Sir Majestic Tail. They leered back at her.

"Okay, Flame, it's your time to shine!" Julia told her Pokémon. Flame sauntered out towards Whirlipede, keeping a safe distance. This was her first time seeing such a Pokémon, and she had very little idea about what it would do. She stalked it in a wide circle, aware of the flat ground beneath her paws and the grass tickling her underbelly, ears flattened. Despite preferring to walk exclusively on her hind paws, it was necessary to use all four in battle, as she had found.

The Whirlipede's attack came out of nowhere. Suddenly, she was rolling at incredible speed. Flame hardly had enough time to leap out of her path, fur standing on end and eyes wide._ I'll need to be faster than that to beat this thing!_

"Good, Flame! Keep evading it and use Ember!" Julia called to her from where she stood at the edge of the battlefield. Flame caught her eye and nodded, then skirted after Whirlipede, flames ignited. The Pokémon rebounded from her initial charge and turned sharply without losing speed to spin at Flame again. Narrowing her eyes, Flame faked quickly to the right before leaping to the other direction, Flamewheeling briefly to strike her side. The attack caught Whirlipede off-guard and she toppled over, skidding on the dirt and flipping onto her other side. Flame took that opportunity to pounce at her in another Flamewheel attack, striking harshly.

At this point, Whirlipede was too exhausted to even get up to roll again, and Flame knocked her out with a solid Scratch at her eye. Bugsy sighed then began walking towards them. Flame scurried backwards, watching him in confusion as he put his arms around Whirlipede and struggled to lift her up.

"Hey, Bugsy, what are you doing?" Flame inquired, lifting herself on her hind legs to see him better.

"None of the Pokémon in my Gym have PokéBalls," Bugsy explained, "so I can't just return her."

"Yeah, but what are you doing with her?" The Quilava followed him to the edge of the battle area, where he set Whirlipede down heavily. Within moments, a Poliwag hopped over, taking one look at Whirlipede before dousing her with a Water Gun. Flame squeaked as some of the water splashed her. I just was wet an hour ago! she mentally protested.

Whirlipede opened her eyes then stood herself up again. Bugsy patted her and smilingly told her, "Thanks, Whirlipede! You did well!" Taking that as a dismissal, Whirlipede blinked once at him in acknowledgement before rolling away.

Flame skirted back to her side of the arena, then glanced back at Julia, secretly hoping for some praise from the girl. When Julia caught her eye, her expression became strangely embarrassed and she quickly told Flame, "Uh, good job! Come back for now, Flame." Flame's ears lost some of their perk as she silently obeyed to be replaced on the field with Sir Majestic Tail. A Ninjask was sent out on Bugsy's end and the two Pokémon were suddenly locked in battle, dashing about the area and firing attacks at each other.

Looking away from the battle, Flame glanced up at her Trainer, who looked tense with her fists clenched and a drawn expression.

"What's going on, Julia? Are you upset or something?" Flame asked her, rising to her hind legs again to put a cautious paw on Julia's hand. The reaction that that got, Flame hardly could have expected. Julia practically jumped away, her eyes wide. It seemed like she stood there, away from Flame, for a long time. Flame stared at her, trying to hide her hurt. _What did I do? I just wanted to comfort her and she just... Wait, is she blushing?!_

The girl covered her mouth and looked away, her face visibly red. "Ah...I'm sorry, Flame," she apologized, taking a step towards Flame but still not coming too close. "I was just...thinking about what Bugsy said to you, earlier." _Still that?_

"So, what? What's the big deal?" Flame asked, casting a quick glance at the battlefield. Although Ninjask was much faster than Sir Majestic Tail, the attacks she dealt were far less damaging and effective.

"Uh, well, this is kind of a weird thing to ask, but...you don't have a crush on me, do you, Flame?"

"Wha – ?!" Flame was taken completely aback, shocked at even the very idea. _Me, a Pokémon, have a crush on my Trainer?! And...and we're both girls, too!_

"That's preposterous! Of course not!" Flame said in a panicked voice. "I like you as a temporary Trainer, but nothing more! Besides, that doesn't even work! How could you think something like that?!"

Julia cringed, turning even more red. "I'm sorry, it was just a thought. I was thinking that that might be what Bugsy thought, but you're right – that's stupid." She looked so deeply embarrassed that Flame wanted to comfort her somehow, tell her she didn't mean it, but on the other hand, she did mean it. Saying something like that would likely make things awkward between them now, and that was bad for both of them. For a person to say that, Flame figured, they'd have to have been hit in the head, hard.

The sound of Sir Majestic Tail's triumphant whinny broke up the awkwardness and Julia called out to him excitedly. He trotted over, his head held high.

"I say! That was a battle to remember!" He stomped the ground enthusiastically, sending a cloud of dirt up. "You both saw how I blasted that hideous little scrap of fabric into oblivion and eternal hell? And yet, I had such a wonderful challenge catching the thing! Nothing is faster than I now!" Fluffy rolled her eyes and jolted him for his arrogance. "Ah, point taken, Fluffy. No more bragging."

"You did well! Good job, Sir!" Julia grinned, patting his neck.

"Thank you, my dearest lady. I will surely take your kind words to heart," he replied, faking crying. Flame looked out over the playing field at Bugsy. His final Pokémon was a Venomoth, who flapped her wings powerfully. It seemed that all of Bugsy's Pokémon were girls, Flame noticed. In fact, even Bugsy looked feminine, with his slender frame and cute face. Had it not been for his distinctly male voice, Flame might have mistaken him for a girl. With humans, it was difficult to tell.

"Alright, then, Flame," Julia said, "you're up." That surprised Flame – wouldn't it be okay to send up Fluffy so that all of her Pokémon had a chance to battle? _Or does she just not want to talk to me?_ she wondered, and she felt crushed_. Maybe I was too rude to her._

But Flame wasn't one to disobey, so she stepped forward, defiantly deciding to remain standing. If she couldn't learn to battle on her hind legs, there was little point in staying up all the time. Venomoth flew towards her, venomous powder falling from her wings, then sped up. Flame ignited her flames and, dodging the powder, sent Embers flying at the Pokémon. Being nowhere near as fast as the Pokémon before her, Venomoth was hit and fell straight down, flopping onto her back. Flame walked over, peering down at her. _So is that it? That was a really easy battle._

Unexpectedly, Venomoth blasted the powder into Flame's face, sending her skidding backwards, clawing at her face. She couldn't breathe; the powder filled her lungs and choked her. Venomoth flew back up, mercilessly, striking her again and again.

_Somebody, help – !_ Flame wanted to run away, to curl into a little ball and vanish, to let Julia fight Venomoth. She would know what to do... _Except that she wouldn't, _she realized suddenly_. Maybe I'm the one thinking weird thoughts. Julia isn't a Pokémon, she doesn't know how to battle!_

She was suddenly alone, being beaten by the Venomoth and slowly fainting from the poison that was now taking effect within her. Despite knowing how stupid it was, Flame wanted nothing more in that moment than having Julia's comforting presence right by her side. With nothing left to do, she curled into a ball and waited for it to be over.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thursday is here! Yippee! And that means there's a new chapter! Double yippee! **

**As usual, reviews are loved and appreciated – review the chapter and tell me everything that sucks about this entire story, and you can be my best friend forever! ^w^**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ahem, everyone...I have an important announcement to make."

Chatot stood at the front of the crew room with Wigglytuff to address the students of the Guild. His expression was an odd mix of calmness and graveness. Julia wondered what was so important that it couldn't even wait until after the morning address. Obviously, it wasn't enough to faze Wigglytuff, who wore his usual mild smile; but then again, nothing fazed him except for Perfect Apple shortages.

"Something quite upsetting has occurred at Treeshroud Forest two nights ago," he began, dragging his gaze across the small crowd. "The Time Gear stationed there to keep the flow of time, well, flowing, has been stolen."

Collective gasps and one "Eek!" echoed throughout the room, and the Pokémon were instantly in a state of distress.

"Who the FUCK is dumb enough to TAKE a TIME GEAR?!" roared Loudred, his eyes set ablaze. "Don't they KNOW that that stops TIME?! WHO stole it?!"

"Everyone, settle down," instructed Chatot, but his voice was drowned out by everybody's yelling. Flame looked to Julia worriedly and attempted to say something, but before he could do so much as open his mouth, everyone was silenced with an earth-shaking, "YOOM-TAH!"

"Ah, thank you, Guildmaster," Chatot spoke, looking dizzy. Julia supposed being so close to a 'yoom-tah' from Wigglytuff would be damaging to the ears. "Now, then..." he continued, raising his voice over the hushed whispers that started up. "Officer Magnezone is already investigating, and has requested of all the Guilds throughout the region to look out for suspicious characters."

_Suspicious characters, huh? _Julia thought to herself._ The last one Flame and I saw was Drowzee, but that was over a moon ago... And besides, he wouldn't be the type to take a Time Gear...I think._ It seemed that Flame was thinking the same thing, because he exchanged a nervous glance with Julia.

"Officer Magnezone is on the CASE, huh?" Loudred scoffed. "That guy is a total SLACKER! He always needs others' help to catch and apprehend criminals! What a JOKE!"

"Shut up!" Chatot snapped at him, leering menacingly. "Officer Magnezone has apprehended far more criminals than you can ever hope to see in your life and has done a remarkable job of keeping the region safe! Your disrespect is unfounded!"

Sunflora seemed thoughtful. "Well, I have to agree with Loudred on this one," she defended. "Officer Magnezone _has_ had to turn to our Guild for help quite a fair bit and – eek!" A furious glare from Chatot silenced her immediately.

"I will have no more of this!" he insisted. "Besides, we are getting away from the main point. All I ask of you all is to stay on guard, understood? Now, get to work!" He returned to his cheerful smiling and with that, the guild members were dismissed.

Before Julia and Flame could follow them up the ladder, Chatot called out to them, "You two! One moment, if you'd please." Julia glanced briefly at Flame, who shrugged, and they walked over to Chatot. He led them into Wigglytuff's room brightly, and they looked to Wigglytuff expectantly. For some reason, Wigglytuff seemed to have decided that today would be one of 'those' days, and he stared out blankly, his everlasting smile upon his face.

"Guildmaster Wigglytuff?" asked Chatot with a hint of frustration in his melodic voice. "...sir? Please, Guildmaster, if you're going to have me bring – "

"What did I tell you about calling me 'Guildmaster?'" Wigglytuff cried out at last, widening his eyes cutely at Chatot. "I have a name, you know!"

Rolling his eyes, Chatot muttered, "Fine, then. Wigglytuff, would you like to give Flame and Julia their assignment now?"

"Okey-dokey!" Wigglytuff beamed. "Let's see, what was it again...? Oh, right! Chatot and I have decided that you two are ready to go on a real mission!"

"Woah, a real mission?!" Flame exclaimed, staring at Wigglytuff excitedly. "What kind of mission?"

"An exploration mission!" Wigglytuff exchanged a grin with Chatot, a gesture that surprised Julia. _The only look I've ever seen Chatot give to Wigglytuff is contempt or that stupid over-cheerfulness, but he actually looks genuinely happy! Our mission must be really special!_

"Indeed," Chatot continued, "an exploration mission to Blackfire Crater. It was a volcano, now extinct for many thousands of years, that is filled up partially with water. Supposedly, deep within it, is a great treasure."

Flame's eyes lit up even more, and Julia figured that if he got any more enthusiastic, they'd light on fire and explode. "Treasure? Really?! This is awesome, Julia! And we're the ones, out of the whole Guild, who got picked!"

"There's more," Chatot added, his eyes narrowing and a sneaky look coming to his face. "Legend has it...that in its depths, there is also a message from years ago. Only one exploration team has ever made it all the way through to tell the tale of it, but that was a long time ago. Perhaps it is nothing but legend." As quickly as he had become secretive, Chatot snapped to light-hearted cheeriness again. "Wigglytuff and I have observed your deep interest in ancient history and ruins, Flame, and we decided you two would be perfect for the task, if you're up to it."

"Of course we're up to it!" squeaked Flame, unexpectedly grabbing Julia's paw in excitement. "We'll be the ones to find that treasure, right Julia?"

"Yep!" she agreed, smiling awkwardly at him.

Satisfied with their responses, Wigglytuff told them, "Well, why don't the two of you set off today? I'll show you where it is on your map!" Once Flame pulled it out, Wigglytuff jabbed a paw at a black image of a pit, just a little way north from the Guild. "It should be easy to get there – not even an hour away!" He straightened, grinning, then finished, "Yoom-tah! Good luck!"

Flame practically dragged Julia out of Wigglytuff's room to deposit her on the dirt ground in the middle of the crew room. Out of the corner of her eye, Julia spotted Sunflora skipping over, smiling.

"Oh my gosh! Well, if it isn't little Flame and Julia! You look all jumpy, Flame! What did Wigglytuff tell you two?" Although her voice sounded whiny, Julia had learned from some joint expeditions with her – and a few peeks at her diary – that she was very kind and tough; and not afraid to show it.

As usual, Flame was the one who spoke. "We've been assigned to explore the Blackfire Crater!"

Sunflora instantly burst into laughter, flopping onto her back then curling up on her side. Quickly, she righted herself, wiping away tears of laughter. "Blackfire Crater, eh?" she managed, trying to contain her laughter. Flame glared at her, raising an eyebrow.

"What about Blackfire Crater?" he inquired suspiciously.

"Well, you, see, it's just that...oh my gosh, I can't take it!" She broke into another peal of laughter, nearly falling over again. Julia was beginning to feel annoyed and curious.

"Calm down, Sunflora!" she instructed, taking a short step forwards. "What's so funny?"

"Aha ha...well..." Sunflora took in a deep breath to compose herself, then said, "That's absolutely crazy! Blackfire Crater? Eek! What a laugh! Everybody knows there's no treasure at the end of it! It's just a stupid lie made up – "

"HEY! What are you BLABBING on about?!" Loudred's thunderous voice shattered Julia's eardrums and he stomped forwards from the ladder area, glowering at Sunflora. "You fucking IDIOT, Sunflora! Don't go saying DUMB things like that! You've never been DOWN there in the CRATER, now have you? How would YOU know what is or isn't down there?"

Cringing from his absurdly loud voice, Sunflora protested, "But Loudred, both of us know – "

" – that this is a VERY important task for Flame and Julia! Their FIRST exploration mission, if I'm correct. Remember OUR first mission? I wish we could have GONE to Blackfire Crater! These two are lucky, and here YOU are, trying to CRUSH their dreams!" He folded his arms, a disapproving glare on his face. Something about the way he said that gave Julia a funny feeling. Loudred was not the type to defend an exploration mission like this; in fact, he usually complained about how lame every expedition was. Either there was something fishy about Blackfire Crater, or it was incredibly important for Flame and Julia to go and was a great privilege. Julia hoped that it was the latter.

"Oh my gosh, you're right!" Sunflora agreed. "It's just...I'm surprised Wigglytuff would send the two newest recruits to such a sketchy place. After all, isn't it full of dangerous Pokémon? And it takes two days to get to its pit! Eek! No thank you! Chatot and Wigglytuff must be insane!"

Loudred nodded approvingly at her, then began to make his way over to the pit in the far corner of the crew room that led to the lookout where he usually worked. For a moment, he paused, then added, "Oh, and Sunflora, if you keep calling the Guildmaster by his name and Chatot overhears, he'll serve your head on a silver platter for tonight's dinner!" Leaving Sunflora shocked and raging, he clambered down into the pit.

"Why, that lousy – !" she fumed, her glare towards the pit like pointed stones. "'Serve my head on a silver platter,' eh? I'll serve your ass on my pile of golden Poké!" She folded her arms huffily and stormed away in the opposite direction, towards the rooms, likely to write about that incident in her diary.

Shrugging at Julia, Flame beckoned and led her up the ladders so that they could get ready for their expedition.

* * *

"Wow..."

Flame and Julia were perched precariously on the very edge of the extinct volcano. Living up to its name, the entire crater was charcoal-black and no plants grew on its mildly steep surface. The two had had a difficult time clambering up the side, as they had searched all around the base and had found no other entrance. Now they stared down into it, awed by the water-filled pit down nearly twenty metres.

Julia's breath caught in her throat as she realized what they were supposed to do.

"Flame, I think we need to jump down there."

Flame yelped, nearly falling back down the crater. "Are you insane?! We'll get crushed the second we jump down there! And if we don't, we'll probably drown! And even if we don't, how do you expect us to climb back up after? There's no way I'm falling down there!" He sighed, his eyes closing. "I guess we'll just have to tell Chatot and the Guildmaster that we couldn't do it. And they trusted us, too!"

Frowning, Julia picked up a small stone nearby and tossed it down, watching it fall and splash into the water. It was an awfully long drop. But if Chatot and Wigglytuff thought that they could handle this exploration, it couldn't be impossible. Then again, they were both likely out of their minds, anyways.

"Come on, Julia," Flame said, grimacing at the prospect of having to stumble back down the side. Before Julia could so much as take a step forwards, a wave of dizziness rushed through her and she whimpered.

"Flame, it's happening again..." she began, then her vision went black. Within a moment, a bright light flashed and she could hear an oddly familiar voice speaking.

"This is impossible! Jumping would be suicide! How are we supposed – "

A yelp of surprise pierced through Julia's mind and she instantly stood back on the ledge, Flame grasping her paws with a fearful look on his face.

"Oh, Arceus, Julia! Are you alright?!" He steadied her and began to let go when another wave sent Julia back into unconsciousness. This time, however, she was looking at the water in the pit from a bird's-eye view, her vision blurred badly. A vague pink blob broke the surface of the water and appeared to begin swimming around. Then, she was awake again.

Julia collapsed onto all fours and panted, trying to figure out what she just saw. _These two visions just came back to back! They must be connected somehow..._

"Are you awake?" Flame asked, trying to help her back onto her paws. Shaking her head violently, Julia gasped out, "I heard...a voice. Someone...who was here...and their partner...fell in." She shut her eyes and tried to remember the rest. "Then there...there was someone, I think the same person who...fell...and they were totally fine!"

Flame sat back on his haunches, considering. "It's been a long time since you had one of those dizzy spells, huh? But last time, when you did, you predicted the future and helped us get to Azurill in time. Maybe this time it's the same." For a moment, he brightened, then his face fell again. "Or maybe it isn't. Even if you did have a vision before, that doesn't justify us throwing away our lives just because it might be safe."

"Well, I think..." Julia frowned down, then clenched her paws into fists. Wigglytuff and Chatot believed in them. And Julia believed in her vision. It happened exactly like before – why would she have such a spell otherwise? "I think that we should try."

"You're nuts!" snapped Flame, beginning to look upset. "Can't you see? There'll be no way out if we jump in! Even the Guildmaster and Chatot would understand that!"

All of a sudden, it made sense. That voice – it had belonged to – !

"Chatot! Chatot's was the voice in my vision!" Julia exclaimed, her eyes glowing. "And that pink blob in the water – that was Wigglytuff!"

"What? Really?!" Flame jolted, then frowned. "But if they've already been here, why are they sending us?"

"I'll bet you anything they went here to make sure the drop was safe first! After all, they wouldn't want us to get hurt, right?" Julia felt pleased with herself for figuring it out. And to think they were actually about to give up!

"But..." Her partner glanced down into the pit and began trembling. "I really don't know. I'm a weak swimmer, and if we don't manage to find a way out..." Decisively, he thrust his head away, shutting his eyes. "I can't do it! I just can't! You go on without me, and I'll just face going back to the Guild alone and prove to everyone that I'm just a big chicken!" Julia stared at him, his little blue form shaking in fear, and she made up her mind. Resting a paw on his shoulder, she smiled into the red eyes that glanced up at her.

"Flame, I believe in you," she spoke, "and even though you're scared, I know that you can do it. Actually..." She paused to let out a short laugh. "I'm freaked out, too. I can't do this without you. We'll make each other brave, okay? Just...trust me." She let her paw slide from his back and faced the gap, extending her other paw to him hopefully. Flame's eyes grew wide and moist, then he blushingly rubbed at them with a paw and, hesitantly, took her paw.

"Alright, Julia. I trust you." Letting out a heavy sigh, he managed a small smile, too, and gripped her paw tighter. "Let's go – together!"

With those final words, they jumped.

* * *

Julia collided with the still surface of the water feet-first, the impact jolting right up her spine. The momentum of the fall shoved her further and further into the surprisingly warm pool, forcing air from her lungs and replacing it with water. Panic rose within her and she scrabbled with her paws furiously until her head finally broke to the surface. In the next moment, Flame's head also popped up and he gagged, trying desperately to tread water.

"Gah! It feels like I got smushed against a rock!" he spat, momentarily dipping under the surface then back up again. "But over there, near the wall, it looks like there's a patch of dry land!"

Indeed, when Julia craned her neck to see what Flame was talking about, she noticed a dark brown ring all around the inside of the walls that looked like it could be a rock ledge. She and Flame frantically paddled to it then clambered on top, flopping down and breathing hard. _Well, at least I'm not dead_, Julia consoled herself.

The ledge, made of hardened lava, extended all around the inside of the dome. After they could catch their breath, Flame and Julia agreed to search around the perimeter to see if there was any opening into a cave or the likes. As Julia walked around slowly, brushing her pawtips along the volcano's wall, she could help but feel a twinge of frustration. Her ability to see into the future – and, as it seemed, the past – could come in handy right now. Then again, it was likely that Chatot and Wigglytuff only tested the jump and didn't continue on; that was what they had sent Flame and Julia for.

_Actually, now that I think about it... _Julia paused, frowning_. In my vision, Chatot's voice sounded odd; was it a higher pitch than normal? Maybe that's why I didn't recognize it right away..._

Her paw ran over a bump on the wall and she realized with a start that she hadn't been paying attention to her task. She looked at the wall and jumped. What her paw had touched was a round, white crystal embedded in the rock.

"Flame!" she called out, looking across the water. He was all the way on the other side! Hoping to catch his attention, Julia built up some electric energy and struck the water, lighting the pool up like a stormy sky. She could see his tiny figure hop back in alarm before looking to her. Quickly waving her paw back and forth, Julia pointed to the crystal in the wall. Flame seemed to understand and instantly began scurrying over, tripping once.

"What is it, Julia?" he called out once he was drawing near. "What did you find?"

"Well, come take a look!"

Flame groaned but ran faster, finally collapsing at her paws. "Geez, you had to find something as far away from me as possible, didn't you?" he panted out. "So, what'd you find?"

Gesturing to it, Julia stepped away so Flame could get a closer look. He scrutinized the gem, then tried pushing it. Nothing happened.

"It's got to open a secret passageway, I just know it!" he exclaimed, his eyes bright. "You try, Julia!"

Julia pushed against it with both paws, then tried to turn it like a dial, but neither action seemed to have any effect. Finally, she gave up and sighed, turning away to face the water.

"It's no use. It won't budge," she told Flame, sitting down. She was tired and hungry, but the small bag that each of them had brought only held two apples, which they needed to save for later. Behind her, she could hear Flame trying to get the crystal to do something, which only made her feel more hopeless. Perhaps they were stuck now. Chatot would have been able to fly out and could have taken Wigglytuff up with him, somehow. Neither Flame nor Julia could fly.

As if in response, the water bubbled.

Julia stood up and peered at it. She hadn't just imagined it. Right there in front of her, bubbles of air had floated up. They had to have some from something...or somewhere. Without hesitation, she jumped into the pool and looked down through the water.

There, in the side of the rock, was a large hole.

"Hey, Flame!" Julia cried out as she broke the surface. Flame had rushed over in panic when she hopped in and now looked both confused and concerned.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, cocking his head sideways. "Or did you find...?" He didn't need his question to be answered; the look on Julia's face told him everything. Grimacing, he hopped into the water and noticed the gap.

"But, Julia," he protested, "that's a whole metre down! Are you saying that we have to swim through that?"

"Why else would it be marked with a crystal?" Julia replied, grinning. "Come on, let's see where it leads to." On that note, she took in a big breath and swam downwards, hating the pressure building up in her head. She pushed through the Snorlax-sized gap and found, to her relief, that it led almost straight to an open-air passage. Quickly climbing up onto the muddy surface, she turned and watched Flame swim out after her. He shuddered as he walked up, apparently hating the mud as much as Julia did.

"That's all the swimming I need to do to last me a lifetime," he muttered, but he couldn't help from being excited. "Oh, Julia, we've made it into the dungeon! We'll prove to Chatot and Wigglytuff that we've got what it takes to explore Blackfire Crater!"

Smiling in reply, Julia let Flame take the lead and they ventured onward. The rock tunnel was wide but empty, devoid of Pokémon or even plants, so they quickly became bored. After several hours of walking down the tunnel in a start-and-stop fashion to take rests, Flame finally snapped.

"I can't take this!" he exclaimed, the fire on his back shooting out furiously. "This is so boring! It looks like we've walked past this same wall a hundred times! There's no mystery dungeon, no Pokémon, just more rock! For how much longer do we have to just keep going?"

"Maybe we're going in circles," Julia suggested thoughtfully. Flame leered at her and sat down huffily.

"Well, that's just great!" he snapped, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Julia's ears drooped and she wished there was something she could do, something she could tell him to cheer him up.

Being that it was a fairly dark tunnel, she shot a few bolts into the passage ahead, trying to see what came next. Her eyes lit up, and not just from the light.

"Flame, look! The tunnel up ahead gets narrower!" He glanced down it and grinned, some optimism restored to him.

"Perfect! Let's go, then, and get this over with!"

They resumed their pace but walked with more of a spring in their steps. Flame, once again, took the lead, so he didn't see it when he collided head-on with a low-hanging stalactite.

"Damn!" he whimpered, rubbing his head. He glared back at Julia, wiping the grin off her face but not preventing the chuckle that slipped out. He walked around it and continued on, clearly embarrassed, and Julia followed. A second later, her forehead smacked into the exact same stalactite and she flopped onto her back.

"Serves you right for laughing at me!" Flame gloated, but came back to help her up anyways. She was unconscious before he could arrive and awake again before he could notice. Another vision had come to her.

This time, she could see it better – more clearly and brightly – than her previous vision. In the exact same cave, and in the exact same spot, marched along a cheerful Wigglytuff carrying a torch and a skulking Chatot who dragged along behind him. Wigglytuff seemed to be saying something to Chatot, then smacked his head into the stalactite. Chatot brightened at that and hopped more energetically before also hitting his head, to Wigglytuff's amusement, but from the pointed underside. The vision lasted only a few seconds but it jolted Julia badly. It felt as though her fur had been rubbed the wrong way. It was true – Wigglytuff and Chatot were sending them on an expedition they had already been on.

"Imagine that – walking right into that same stalactite! I guess that saying is true: 'Don't follow in my footprints; I run into walls!'" He offered a paw to her and righted Julia easily. At last second, she decided not to tell Flame about her vision and ruin the fun of going through the dungeon.

The air became warmer as they continued their trek through the tunnel. A dim glow came from ahead, lighting their path slightly. Little by little, Julia and Flame increased their speeds until they were running. The end seemed to finally be in sight!

But when they emerged from the tunnel, they found themselves not outside, but in a large cavern with a river pouring out from a gap in a wall and flowing through into another. What caused the light were small pools of molten lava clustered around the edges near the cavern walls. A dead end.

Flame gaped at the room, then furiously kicked the ground, fire spurting out his back. "We came all this Arceus-damned way for this? Are you shitting me?! A dead end!" Julia's ears drooped and she sank onto her haunches. She couldn't believe it. They found nothing; not so much as a Pokémon, let alone a powerful one. No treasure. Was this some sort of cruel prank set up by Wigglytuff and Chatot? It would make sense; after all, why would they send Team Eleblaze all the way through there if they knew that it led to nowhere?

_Unless...it doesn't lead to nowhere!_ An idea came to Julia and she scampered over to the river on the other side of the room. The gap from which it poured was hardly large enough to let all the water through, but the hole in the wall into which it vanished was much larger. Perhaps large enough for a Pikachu and a Cyndaquil to fit through?

"Hang on, Flame!" Julia called in excitement. "This isn't a dead end at all! Come here and take a look!" Skeptically, Flame came over and stared the river up and down before resting his eyes on the large opening and realizing what Julia meant.

"No way!" he gasped, leaping back as if stung. "I'm not wetting my fur again! We have no idea where that leads to! And besides..." He curled away from it, shuddering. "It's really dark in there. There might be some nasty Pokémon hidden down there..."

"Don't worry, Flame!" Julia grinned at him then grasped his paw. "If there's any water type bosses, I'll blast 'em!" Noticing Flame's still-nervous expression, she added, more softly, "Trust me. Neither of us are going to get hurt. And if we don't try going down the river, we'll have to walk back, anyways."

Slowly, Flame nodded in grim agreement then stepped towards the quickly flowing water, still squeezing his partner's paw. He took in a deep breath, his narrowed eyes regarding the river with horror, then determination.

"I can do this..." he mumbled to himself. "I can be brave – no, we're brave, together..." Julia smiled, a warm feeling spreading over her face. Flame's resolve seemed to cause him to radiate a burning hot energy, an energy of bravery. She liked it when he got like this –

"Ah, screw it, that water's moving way too fast and there's too much of it!" Flame suddenly cracked, letting Julia's paw go and scrambling away. "You go on without me, and I'll just wait here and take care of the apples – "

Julia was having none of that now. She forcefully grabbed him around his body and jumped into the river with him, despite his panicked protests. The moment they broke the surface of the water, Flame cried out and grabbed Julia back, screeching in terror as they were thrown into the abyss.


	11. Chapter 11

**Bam! Another chapter! How do you like them apples?**

**Wigglytuff: I like apples, but ****_perfect_**** apples are even better!**

**Hey, get out of this chapter! You're only allowed to appear in even-numbered chapters!**

**Wigglytuff: Okay, friendly friend writer lady! *dances off***

**Sheesh, what a pain. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and be sure to review!**

* * *

"Flame...!"

Julia took two quick steps forwards before she realized what she was doing and stopped herself. Even though Flame was struggling against Bugsy's Venomoth and was close to fainting... Julia clenched her eyes shut tightly and stepped back. _...I can't jump into battle and help her. That's not allowed; I'll return her to her PokéBall instead and send another Pokémon in in her place._

Without delaying for another second, Julia grabbed Flame's PokéBall from her bag's pocket and yelled, "Flame, return!" She pressed the centre button and a stream of red light burst out and engulfed Flame, turning her into data and enclosing her in the plastic ball. Venomoth fluttered about in surprise, looking around for her now-missing opponent.

Fluffy locked eyes with Julia and, without requiring words to be spoken, leapt into battle, firing off bolts left, right, and centre – even continuing to pummel the poor Venomoth after she fell to the ground to ensure that she truly had fainted this time around. Eventually, Fluffy stopped and glanced back at her Trainer before smugly marching away from her fallen foe. Looking slightly surprised at the whole exchange, Bugsy sighed and carried Venomoth out of the arena, murmuring words of praise to her.

It was too much for Julia to bear to leave Flame in her PokéBall until she was healed at a Pokémon Centre, so she pressed the button again to let her out before cramming it back in her bag. At first, Flame looked exactly as she did a minute ago, curled up on the ground with her ears pinned back flat and her body trembling. Then she noticed that the battle was over and she relaxed a little bit but was still unable to move. Julia quickly realized that Flame was still paralyzed and fished in her bag for a Paralyz Heal. After she sprayed Flame, the Quilava's muscles suddenly relaxed and she hopped right back up onto her paws, slightly sheepish.

"Th-thanks, Julia," she mumbled awkwardly, staring down. When she glanced up, Julia realized that she couldn't look her in the eye, either, and she looked past her instead, at Bugsy; who was approaching them with something clenched in his fist. _Shit, _she thought numbly,_ why did I even suggest such a stupid thing to Flame? How could I have not realized how awkward that would make things between us?_

"Well, I told you you guys were going to win," Bugsy laughed, ruffling his purple hair. "Here's your badge! You totally deserved it!" With a flourish, he opened his palm to Julia, revealing a shiny badge roughly in the shape of a Ledyba. Julia took it, trying to look enthusiastic. After all, it was exciting to get any badge, especially on her first try.

"Now, then, shall I escort you to the door?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and trying to look alluring. It was funny how hard he was trying, but before Julia could playfully accept, Fluffy narrowed her eyes and shot a powerful bolt of lightning at Julia. The bolt ran through her like a shiver, but with more energy, and she lost her footing, stumbling backwards. Without a moment's hesitation, Flame's paws shot out and she grabbed Julia's hand, not needing too much effort to right her again. Grinning at Julia, Fluffy high-stepped away towards the door, a confused Sir Majestic Tail in tow.

"Um, it's okay, Bugsy," Julia finally replied, laughing lightly. "I can walk myself to the door." He looked more bewildered than disappointed as he watched Julia and Flame scurry after the two Pokémon and out of the Gym.

* * *

"Fluffy, what the hell was that about?" Julia finally demanded as they walked to the Pokémon Centre. Fluffy strode stubbornly in front of her, her tail held high. Her head turned and she glanced back, leering delicately.

"Honestly, Julia, if you're going to be going after anyone, it had better not be a grass type person. Those are all too weak and they'll burn up." Julia opened her mouth to protest, though uncertain of what exactly she should say, but Fluffy bounced back to her, sparks flying from her fur and a teasing look in her eyes.

"Even just a little spark could set them off and up they go in flames!"

Flame groaned, her eyes closed. "You're talking nonsense, Fluffy. You realize that, right?"

"Ha! As if you're ever logical in the least!" Fluffy sneered, then turned her attention back to Julia. "I suggest you pick up an electric hunk. They're shocking!"

Grinning despite herself, Julia turned her head and responded, "First of all, I'm not looking for someone to date. I just wanted to humour Bugsy – y'know, play along. Second, I'm not so low that I'm just going to only date one type or another. If humans were that selective, they'd all be dating Pokémon." At Fluffy's expectant look, Julia added furiously, "And no, I'm not going to date Pokémon, either!"

"You seem to want to," Flame muttered under her breath, staring at the dusk sky. Julia cringed and Fluffy snapped, "Flame, that was uncalled for! You know that what she said was just a speculation!"

A burst of fire shot at all three of them and nearly seared off Julia's skin. Sir Majestic Tail snorted, glaring at them.

"You three are causing a massive migraine with your petty bickering over who likes whom!" he scolded, composing himself neatly. "Are all females like this?"

With a jolt, Fluffy pounced at him, looking like a big ball of flying fluff. They scuffled with each other in the most undignified ways, still-wet dirt from the rain covering both of them. Sighing, Julia returned them to their PokéBalls and continued walking, Flame sticking to her side. For a few minutes, they walked in total silence, neither looking at the other. Finally, Flame spoke, her voice little more than a raspy whisper.

"I'm sorry, Julia," she mumbled, keeping her eyes down. "I overreacted when you said that, back at the Gym. I was just startled, that's all."

"It's alright," Julia replied, smiling at her. Flame risked a glance up and, locking eyes for a moment, cracked and smiled, too. "I must admit, that was a really random question," she continued. "But, for our sakes, I'll blame it on Bugsy. Blast him for wanting a romantic dinner."

Flame stared for a moment, then burst into relieved laughter. "Yeah, blast him!" she giggled.

They came into the Pokémon Centre and Julia, requesting a room for the night, was led down a hall lined with white-painted doors in the red walls and to her room. Almost right away, Julia let Sir Majestic Tail out first, then Fluffy a few moments later, so that they wouldn't continue fighting in there. The two seemed to settle for an exchanged glare, then made their ways to opposite sides of the room to sulk and try to get some mud out of their respective pelts.

The walls were white and the floor and ceiling red, painted to look like a PokéBall. A pair of bunk beds stood on either side of the fairly small room, with matching two-tone blankets. A bathroom was hidden behind a red door on the far end of the room. Altogether, it was a decent sleeping arrangement, in Julia's opinion.

While Julia dressed in the bathroom (Fluffy forbade her to change in front of a boy), she could hear Fluffy bleating away to Flame about how to properly stand on one's hind legs and the sound of an attempt to demonstrate ending in one fluffball falling onto the floor could be heard. Despite all of their misbehaving, Julia realized that her Pokémon were actually very proper – for the most part. At the very least, none of them liked the ground type.

_Which means that if we're ever challenged by a Trainer who uses ground type Pokémon, we're going to have a tough time, _she reminded herself_. Maybe I need to catch a water type?_

Fully changed into her pyjamas, Julia left the bathroom and turned off the lights. The two ceiling lamps shut off, leaving them in near-darkness. Sir Majestic Tail's mane and tail provided the only light in the room.

"Well, goodnight, guys," Julia yawned, and crawled into a bed. Flame, almost instinctively, hopped onto the bed after her, laying down on top of the covers with her head resting on the tough pillow. Immediately, Fluffy seized her chance to bounce onto the other bed's lower bunk and settle in. Only Sir Majestic Tail was left still standing, confused.

"Wait one moment!" he called out. "Now where shall I sleep?"

"On the floor," Fluffy put simply, then added, "where you belong."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"That bed's big enough for both of you," sighed Julia, still sitting up. Fluffy started, then glowered.

"Are you trying to matchmake or something?" she inquired, her eyes narrowed. "If you are, I can certainly return the favour..."

Figuring that Julia needed her help, Flame sat up and pointed out, "It's just a bed, guys. It's not like the Pokémon Daycare or something. I'm sure you'll survive the night." She lay back down, looking satisfied that her work was complete. It seemed to work – Sir Majestic Tail extinguished his fires for the night and stepped onto the bed, causing it to creak a little from his weight. Luckily, Fluffy was light enough not to make much of a difference and the bed held up.

Julia lay on her back, her head close to Flame's. Of course, Flame wasn't asleep yet; she lay on her side facing Julia, her red eyes hardly even half-closed. When the sound of heavy breathing came from the other bunk, Flame turned over to her other side and whispered, "Still awake?"

"Yeah," Julia breathed softly, wondering if this was going to happen every night.

"Did you like Bugsy? As in, like-like him?"

"...maybe a little, I guess. After all, he was very sweet and funny..."

"I suppose so. So it's true that humans never mate for life?"

That phrase gave Julia a funny feeling and she rolled over to look at Flame, who just glanced back at her. "Why are you asking all this?" Flame jolted and turned over as well.

"Well, I..." She frowned, looking not as embarrassed as speculative. "At dinner, he really agitated me. I don't know what it is, but he made me feel like my fur was being rubbed the wrong way. So I just got to thinking, and such." Sighing, Flame closed her eyes, rubbing at them with a paw. "Don't date him – that's all I'm saying. Wait, I – " She turned red and looked away, trying to think quickly.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! I, uh, I just mean that if I don't like someone, you shouldn't – wait, no, that's wrong, too! It's rather that I, uh..."

"Keep your voice down!" Julia hissed, suppressing a giggle. "I get it, Flame. I'll only date someone if I really like them. But when it's put that way, it sounds like something my mom would say!" Flame groaned, covering her face with her paws.

"Geez, I'm such a screw-up! Now you're comparing me to your mother!" She seemed so distressed that Julia cracked a grin and squished her in a hug, aware of her radiating heat.

"Whatever, Flame," Julia told her, still hugging her. Although Flame looked mortified and probably felt that way, too, she relented and let Julia hold her. A few minutes later, that was how the two fell asleep.

* * *

The strange light in Flame's dream melted away into the morning sun as she blinked open her eyes. Right away, she was aware that she was not in the same position she fell asleep in. Julia's arms, instead of being draped loosely around Flame's body, were tucked into her chest tightly and her hands were clasped around Flame's paws. Her head and legs curled inwards and even though the pose didn't look too comfortable, it seemed to be good enough for Julia for her to have slept in past Flame, who usually was the second to wake.

What changed the situation from odd into downright eerie was that Flame had also slept like that.

After the few seconds it took for her brain to process that information, she scrambled backwards, pulling her paws from Julia's grasp; somehow, the girl still slept. _This is getting weird! _Flame panicked, breathing hard._ What is up with me and Julia?! The dreams, the feeling that we're much closer friends than we actually are, and now this – !_

A bright flash of electricity arced over from the other bed and struck Julia, causing her to stir but remain asleep. Flame leapt in surprise and glared over at Fluffy, who sat smugly on her bed, front hooves dangling off the side and a bright-eyed grin on her face.

"Just checking how Zubat-shit insane this girl is when it comes to resisting electric attacks," she clarified sweetly, kicking her fluff-covered legs back and forth. Beside her, Sir Majestic Tail lay, shrugging at Flame. Flame shook her head, then gently began to nudge Julia, trying to wake her up.

"What was up with how you were sleeping?" added Fluffy, slowly looking more and more malicious than friendly. Glancing down at Julia, Flame decided to answer completely truthfully.

"I have no idea," she said, sitting back on her haunches. "We were just like that when I woke up." _No need to tell them about _how_ we fell asleep._

Still looking suspicious, Fluffy hopped off the bed and wandered over. When she was less than a metre from the bed, she shot a Thunder attack directly at Julia. That was enough to wake her and she sat up suddenly, smacking her head into the bed above. She flopped back down and rubbed her forehead, making whimpering noises.

"Shit! What makes you think that waking me up with something like that is a good idea?!" she yelped, sitting up more slowly this time with her hands pressed firmly against her head.

"Just an experiment," Fluffy shrugged, hopping away from Julia's furious lunge at her. Flame felt concerned, her eyes narrowing at her temporary trainer. What Fluffy had said about Julia being extremely resistant to electric attacks may have been true, but that still didn't mean that they would never hurt her.

A noisy beeping interrupted her thoughts and Julia and Fluffy's scuffle. Disentangling herself from Fluffy, Julia fumbled through her bag until she found a small blue device. She flipped it open and it stopped beeping, then she spoke into it, "Hello?"_ Is she talking to a box?_ Flame wondered, edging nearer.

"Yo, Jules! How's it going?" A male voice exploded from the blue thing and Flame yelped in surprise.

"Jordan," Julia addressed, disappointed. "Is mum there?"

"Nah, but McMister is!" There was a blubbering noise from Jordan's end and Julia automatically flinched. Yelling could be heard from the box and Jordan yelled, "No, McMister! How many times have I told you not to spray the PokéGear?! You dumbo!"

Carefully and timidly, Flame continued towards Julia, peering at the box in wonder.

"Julia, what is that?" she asked, trying to get a better look at it. The girl crouched slightly and whispered, "It's called a PokéGear. Now, be quiet for a few minutes; my cousin is trying to talk to me." Then, seeming to decide that it was better for her to sit down, Julia dropped herself onto her bed and crossed her legs.

"Hey, who ya talkin' to?" Jordan yelled, then a little screen on the PokéGear lit up to show a human face framed by shaggy orange hair. The face grinned and the chocolate brown eyes lit up. "Aw, ain't you a cutie! What's your name, Quilava?" Flame realized with a start that the boy was talking to her and she pulled away, frightened. How was he talking to her? What was this 'PokéGear' doing?!

"It's alright, Flame," Julia soothed, "Jordan's not here. He's back in New Bark town, a safe distance from us." That didn't comfort Flame in the least. Human technology always made her fur crawl, especially PokéBalls, but this was magic of sorts!

"Flame, eh?" Jordan cooed at her in his deep voice, making a gushy face. "You're just the cutest thing! But really, Jules, didn't you want a Chikorita? You were dead-set on a grass type – "

"No grass types!" bleated Fluffy, and jolted Julia furiously. From the PokéGear, Jordan's laughter rang out. Flame glanced at Sir Majestic Tail to see what he thought about all this, but he shrugged indifferently.

"Geez, Jules! Found another way to get shocked, eh? Seems like you prefer fire-starters now."

Julia tried in vain to smooth down her static-charged hair and replied flatly, "First of all, that was hardly my choice. I didn't think that Fluffy wanted to kill me so badly – "

"Oh, no, it's not like that at all," interrupted the Mareep. "I'm actually taking advantage of the fact that I can't kill you. It's more like I shock you to scold – "

"Anyways," Julia cut in, glaring at her, "I _did_ get a Chikorita, but he was accidentally swapped with another trainer's Pokémon, so Flame isn't really mine."

Her words cut into Flame like a Slash attack and she flattened her ears back despite herself. _I already know that I don't belong to her, but I'd figured that she forgot..._

"That's bad," said Jordan gravely. "You need to return her to that trainer. They probably really miss her." Catching Julia's downcast face, he added, "It's for the best, you know. The sooner you return her, the better. You don't want to get attached to her, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Julia mumbled, scratching the back of her neck and casting a sideways glance at Flame. It wasn't difficult for Flame to catch the meaning: 'Well, it's already too late for that.'

"You got their name? Y'know, I could start asking around and looking for them," Jordan suggested, grinning goofily. His Quagsire, McMister, came into view as he started pushing against his Trainer's head to get a better view. The hairs on the back of Flame's neck began to rise, even though she knew he was in a different town altogether. He was a water and ground type Pokémon, who would be able to take her out easily if he so wished. But the lethargic look in his droopy eyes and wide smile gave him the appearance of someone who likely wouldn't battle even if commanded to.

"Oh, his name..." Julia trailed off, then quickly replied, "I don't know it. He never told me his name." Flame frowned and was prepared to protest when she realized that Julia was holding back that information on purpose. "Anyways, could you get mom on the line? I'd like to talk to her, if she's there."

"Aw, Jules," Jordan grinned, "you know that she works from ten to five. Of course she's not here. But Leo wanted to chat. You got his number, right?"

"Yeah..." Julia sighed and levitated her finger over a button, likely one to cut the connection.

"One more thing!" cried out Jordan suddenly, halting Julia from getting rid of him for another moment. He winked at her and told her, "Be safe, Jules. Love ya."

Julia's glare melted into a small smile and she quickly said, "Yeah, yeah. See you 'round." Then she finally hung up with another sigh. Curiously, Flame watched as Julia scrolled down a list on the bottom screen before tapping another button. From the PokéGear came a new sound, a low buzz, that repeated a few times before a voice said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Leo," Julia addressed. "It's Julia. I heard you wanted me to call you?"

A different face popped onto the top screen – another boy, but this one had black hair that stuck out in tufts and green eyes. "Yep!" the boy replied, smiling cheerfully. "Guess what I just found out!" The background behind him, a bedroom of sorts, shifted rapidly as he ran someplace within it, then a grey image was thrust at the screen. Flame squinted at it when it came into focus and found it to be of a mountain of sorts. Interesting, but not too noteworthy.

"Mount Coronet?" Julia guessed, her eyes gleaming. "So it's that time again, is it?" Flame noticed that Julia suddenly sat up straighter and looked more interested.

"That's right!" Leo giggled, pulling the picture away. "It's info time!" Info time? Flame wondered, coming up from behind Julia and setting her paws on her shoulder so that she could see the screen better. I bet this is going to be intriguing.

Still beaming, Leo continued, "So, I've been following this guy's blog lately, and he's said that he's planning on going through the mountain from the inside. And today is the day that he's going in!"

"No way! That's awesome!" Julia exclaimed, bouncing slightly on the bed. Shaking her head, Flame frowned up at her.

"Uh, what's awesome?" she asked, cocking her head sideways. "What's the big deal? It's just some mountain."

"Not at all!" contradicted Julia. "It's said to be the location of the Hall of Origin, where Arceus is said to live, as well as all of the Legendary Pokémon! For years, people have been trying to climb to the top, but there's a constant snowstorm raging, so helicopters have no chance of making it up. What's more, it's too steep for climbers to go up on foot, and not even Abomasnows or Weaviles can make it up!

"I've gotten into this because of Leo – he's totally obsessed with legends and stuff – and now he's been sending me updates on exploration efforts and events in Sinnoh!" She let out a little squeal of excitement and added, "It's my dream to be the one to discover Mount Coronet's secrets, but I have no experience with caves, so it's never gonna happen."

"Jules, who is that?" asked Leo, peering at Flame quizzically. What Julia had just said buzzed in Flame's mind, but she didn't hesitate to reply, "My name's Flame. Are you Julia's friend?"

Leo shut his eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright, let's see... Fire, Fiery,

Flame, Blaze..." He glanced up hopefully at her. "Was it any of those?" For a moment, Flame was immensely confused before she realized that he was listing off possible names. _I keep forgetting that some humans aren't as good at understanding Pokémon,_ she reflected.

"Flame," Julia told him, nodding to her. "Did you catch the rest of what she said?"

"Yeah, I'm not that incompetent," insisted Leo, blushing slightly. "Jules has been my best friend ever since we were little kids," he explained. "She's like the sister I never had. Are you her Pokémon?"

Before Julia was able to answer for her, Flame stated, "Nope, we're friends. Very good friends," she added quickly, making eye contact. "Oddly enough." Julia stared, then looked away hurriedly. So she had noticed it, too. It hadn't taken a long time for Flame to figure out that their friendship had not formed as gradually as it should have – hardly a day of knowing each other, and Flame felt like she had known Julia her entire life.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a questioning blubber from Leo's end, coming from a Corphish that waddled into the scene. Having not caught on to the air of confusion, Leo glanced down then said, "Oh, yeah, guys. This is my Corphish. We're close buddies, and he's also into this sort of thing! Corphish, meet Julia and Flame!" The screen panned down, so that Corphish took up most of the screen. He bounced back in surprise, then came in cautiously. Flame had no idea what to say, so she just smiled at him and waved.

A frown crept over Corphish's face, then his eyes grew large and he seemed to panic, staring back and forth in shock.

"Julia...and Flame?!" he burst out, getting close to the screen. "It's...you?!"

"Uh, yeah..." Julia replied awkwardly. This conversation was beginning to get weird. Now that Corphish's question was confirmed, he panicked even more, racing back and forth.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he repeated, claws flailing in the air. "This can't be happening, hey, hey!"

Instantly, Leo lifted his PokéGear away from Corphish, laughing uncertainly.

"Calm down, there, Corphish," he told him, then to Flame and Julia, "I have no idea what he's doing. He's never acted like this before. I'll...call you back, 'kay?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Julia replied, then hung up. She seemed shaken up, but Flame knew how she felt, if they were feeling the same way. It was as if there was a waterfall in Flame's mind being held back by a Bibarel dam, ready to burst free at any moment. Corphish had seemed...painfully familiar. Something very odd was going on.

"Hey, can you two stop looking so constipated so that we can get outta here already?" snapped Fluffy, jolting Julia and, subsequently, Flame. While Julia didn't care about that at all, Flame's neck and rump exploded into blazes and she pounced onto Fluffy.

"You're gonna get it now, furball!" she yelled, attacking her playfully. Fluffy giggled and rolled onto her back to gleefully pommel Flame with her soft hooves. At the very least, the play-battle took the disturbing conversation off Flame's mind – for a while.

After a minute or so, Julia announced that it was time to go – much to Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail's glee – and they set off once again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the lateness! Here is your promised chapter! Man, I really need to pick up the slack. Only one chapter a week? That's pathetic!**

**Anyways, review and critique and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Waaaaahhhhhh!"

Flame's cries echoed through the dark tunnel, bouncing off the walls and amplifying as they tumbled down the rapid black river. It was a struggle for Julia to even keep their heads up – both hers and Flame's, since the moment they were in the water, he became totally helpless. Water forced its way into her throat and she gagged, her eyes shutting tightly. If she weren't fighting so hard for her life, she would have yelled at Flame to shut up. Constant bombardment by those loud screams made it feel like her brain was repeatedly striking against her skull.

Although it felt like they were falling through the darkness for an eternity, it was less than a minute before the river spat the two out onto a muddy cavern floor. All that could be heard was coughing and sputtering until Flame and Julia finally managed to catch their breaths and look around. Like the last cave they were in, there was light from the small, bubbling pools of lava scattered around the fringes. This one, however, was wetter; hard-packed dirt transformed into mud by the spray from the river. Some of the water had formed a shallow pool in the ground, which Flame instantly ran to.

"What are you doing?" Julia inquired, watching in confusion as he hopped right in and began covering himself in water.

"We're filthy, Julia!" he explained, focussing on cleaning his light coloured stomach fur. "You look ridiculous!"

Julia looked down at her body and realized, with a start, that he was right. Mud ran down all the way from her chin to her haunches, and when she took a step forward, mud squelched between her toes. Giggling in horror, she followed suit in getting into that pool and scrubbing herself as best she could. A bit of water splashed onto Flame from her frantic washing and he splashed her back. Soon, they were shoving water at each other, laughing like lunatics.

_It's better to be wet and having fun than dry and bored to tears!_ she figured, spitting out a mouthful of water.

After they were both tired out, they trekked out of the pool and onto the driest patch of ground they could find to shake off. Flame then led Julia out through a gap in the wall and they continued on their way.

It wasn't long before Julia was yawning and she became aware of being too exhausted to even keep her ears lifted up. It was likely night outside, she realized. And sleep was dragging along slowly behind her, enticing her to give in to it.

"Flame," she began, stifling another yawn, "how 'bout we call it quits for the night and go to sleep?"

"Uh, sure, why not?" Flame mumbled, staggering a little. _He must be tired, too_, figured Julia.

It was evident that they were also too tired to even care about where they slept or how comfortable they were, so they just flopped up against the tunnel wall, side-by-side, with their heavy heads resting against each other. By now, Julia thought nothing of this; they were close friends, so a little intimacy was to be expected. She fell asleep immediately.

* * *

Flame, however, did not. He could hear Julia's breathing as it slowed, felt her heart pulsing in time with his. Soon, his was beating faster. _Geez, I'm so pathetic, _he groaned_. Here we are – she's fast asleep, and I can't even calm down. We're friends – that's all we are, that's all that we'll ever be. And yet..._

His eyes closed halfway, then he carefully reached out with a paw to slowly and gently stroke her cheek. Tears began to gather in his eyes and he blinked furiously, blushing to himself. _Damn it, Flame, what are you crying about?! Nothing's wrong! Or maybe... _A realization came to him and he became redder in the face._ I'm not – ! No, that can't be it! I only like her as a friend! I only _can_ like her as a friend, because someday, she'll recover her memory and go home..._

He didn't want to think about that. Desperately, he tried to push the thought away, but it pulled back at him and trapped him. Suddenly, that was all he could think about and he resignedly accepted that he wasn't going to get much sleep. Sure enough, the moment his pulse finally slowed and his eyes closed, Julia stirred beside him, rubbing her eyes with a paw.

"'Morning, Flame. I think." He muttered a 'good morning' back to her, but she didn't move anymore.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she whispered, her eyes wide. "Did I wake you?" Flame began to object, but she was silent again, still against him. "I'll just sit here awhile for you," she decided, putting her paw into his. Red exploded over Flame's face and he willed the blush to go away. Julia giggled at him, and Flame began to panic. _Oh, Arceus, she knows now, doesn't she?!_

To his surprise, she just snuggled into him more, her eyes closed. While that was comforting, it only caused him to continue to freak out, now even worse than before. _As if I'm going to be able to get to sleep now!_

Miraculously, he slowly began to calm down and when his eyes opened again, he felt refreshed and ready for the rest of the walk. That was, until he remembered what had just happened.

"You good?" Julia's voice made Flame jolt, and he quickly stood up.

"Yep, all good!" He knew that he was red-faced again. "Thanks for waiting for me, Julia! Shall we keep going now?" Julia stood as well, stretching out her legs, then followed him. Silence rested on their backs like a blanket, but Flame's mind, being the scumbag that it was, decided to turn the quiet between them into an awkward and uncomfortable pause. Flame did everything he could do stop feeling that way by tossing Julia an apple, stopping from time to time to look at a section of the floor or wall, or picking at his fur, but he could not shake off the feeling of needing to say something to her.

He was saved by the path opening up after a few hours into a larger cavern that was filled with the dripping noises of water falling to the ground. There was something different about this cavern, though. It was brighter, for one thing, for no apparent reason. It was also filled with crystals.

"Woah..." he and Julia breathed in unison. Spikes of crystal poked out from the edges of the cave in every direction, gleaming in pastel hues of pink and blue. The real showstopper, however, was the massive crystal standing at the far end of the room. It was twice Flame's height and almost shone. The violet gem glimmered in Flame's eyes and he looked to his partner.

"This is it! This is Blackfire Crater's treasure!" he exclaimed, grinning. "We made it, Julia!"

"And it was totally worth it to go through this whole cave system," Julia agreed, taking a few enchanted steps forwards. Then her eyes focussed on the wall and she frowned. "Flame, what does that say? Can you read it?"

Flame followed her gaze and noticed words, crudely carved into the rock face. He approached it, curiousity pulling him forward, then he stopped. For a moment, he was confused. For another, he was disappointed. Then, for a few days, he was positively enraged.

The words read: 'Wigglytuff and Chatot were here!'

"W-Wigglytuff and Chatot were here," he read, then repeated for confirmation, "Wigglytuff and Chatot were here. Wigglytuff and Chatot were here." For a second, he was silent, the drips of water the loudest sounds in the cavern.

"FUCK!"

They were here already. They hadn't just tested the water to see if it was safe, they actually went through the caves. It made sense. This entire journey hadn't been a waste; it was a prank. No wonder Chatot had seemed so upbeat and cheerful on the send-off.

"Gods dammit!" he raged, his back exploding into fire. "Fucking hell!"

"Flame, calm down!" Julia pleaded, running to him and putting a paw on his shoulder. "I mean, it's not all that bad – "

"All that way!" Flame interrupted furiously. "All that way for nothing! Hours of just walking, with not a single fucking Pokémon to even fight, and it's not even that fucking bad?! Why are you so calm, anyways?"

Julia looked awkward as she replied, "Well, when I banged my head on that stalactite, I had a vision of Wigglytuff and Chatot hitting it as well, so I kind of already knew."

"You knew and you didn't tell me?!"

"I'm sorry! I thought that maybe they couldn't figure out how to go on past the river – "

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" screeched Flame. "Do I not matter so much to you that you would just let me go stupidly on? What am I to you, dirt?!"

The torn expression on Julia's face nearly broke Flame's heart – nearly. He stormed over to the crystal and punched it as hard as he could. His paw exploded in pain, but something else took over his mind. The crystal had moved backwards and clicked into place. A distant, ominous rumbling started up and grew frighteningly loud and near in seconds.

Flame backed away and tried to look for an escape, but it was too late. The wall above the crystal burst open and tonnes of destructively powerful water flooded into the room. In an instant, Flame was caught up in the stream and was thrust, wailing, into a newly-opened hole in the floor. If the previous tumble down the river was bad, this was the behemoth of cruel. Currents within the flood tumbled Flame from side to side, kicking out all of his air and grinding him against the walls. He couldn't see Julia, but he suddenly felt the urge to hug her and apologize over and over. _We can't die when that was the last thing I said to her!_

Then he was flying through the open air, high above the ground. It was all too much for him. He blacked out.

* * *

"Flame," Julia whimpered, "wake up."

Flame blinked his eyes open and had to squint in the bright light. His partner leaned low over him, terrified eyes wide. Then, her expression melted into one of relief and she sat back. Suddenly, Flame became aware that he was floating in a warm pool of water. He bobbed upright and took in his surroundings.

He and Julia were in a hot spring surrounded by other Pokémon, who looked on at him in concern. Outside of the hot spring was a thick forest with bird Pokémon flying overhead. They were outside.

"Finally!" he gasped, grinning about. Then, remembering an amendment he needed to make, squeezed Julia tightly. "I'm glad that's over! But where are we?"

"You must be members of Wigglytuff's Guild," said a mellow, crinkled voice. Flame and Julia turned to see an old Torkoal, who gazed on with a smile.

"Y-yeah," Flame replied, staring. "How did you – ?"

"Ever since a Wigglytuff and a Chatot blasted up through here about six years ago, other Pokémon have followed suit, all claiming to be from Wigglytuff's Guild." Torkoal let out a raspy laugh and continued, "Those two have a sense of humour, it seems. Even though when they first escaped from the Blackfire Tunnels, they were anything but thrilled, they seem to enjoy forcing others to go through their same torment."

"So it's a running gag, then," Julia mused, looking at Flame. Then to Torkoal, she asked, "How do we get back to the Guild?"

"It's not a long walk in that direction," Torkoal explained, pointing, "but you must be weary from that trek. Rest for a while in the hot springs!"

The two trainees exchanged glances, then grinned and relaxed. Despite all the water Flame had had to be doused in lately, this seemed like a fitting reward for keeping his sanity. For nearly another hour, they floated in the springs, completely tranquil and at ease, until their hunger forced them to leave.

Flame's anger smouldered within him like a burning coal on the walk back, the fire within him only becoming greater. Finally, when they returned to find the entire guild there to welcome them back with grinning faces, it burst into a raging firestorm. His steps forward were slow, calculated; he noticed Chatot tense in anticipation of any attack Flame might hurl at them, but he was unable to hold back a grin. Behind him, Flame was aware of Julia, coming in close to him, possibly hoping to stop him from doing anything violent.

All of his tension was finally released. His paw came up, then down across Chatot's face with the force of a Giga Impact. The guild gasped collectively, but when Chatot glanced up from the slap, he broke into hysterical laughter, shielding his face with his wings.

Flame stared at him in disbelief. He had just slapped Chatot, the most feared Pokémon in the Guild – and likely the most powerful, too – and his punishment was...being laughed at?

The Guildmaster beamed at Chatot, then also started laughing. Soon, the two were sprawled on the ground, tears streaming from their eyes and their laughter uncontrollable. It was bizarre enough to see Wigglytuff laugh like an idiot, but Chatot?! Flame could not get that past his brain.

"Alright Chatot, what gives?" Flame demanded at last. "What's so gods-damned funny?"

Chatot began to reply, but was halted by another bout of laughter. Then, almost as one, he and Wigglytuff righted themselves, collected smiles on their faces. _Holy shit, _Flame gaped,_ what the hell is wrong with these two?!_

"Do beg our pardons," Chatot said, clearing his throat, "but I – we – got a little nostalgic from that." He lowered his head slightly, his eyes closed. "You obviously are aware of the fact that, yes, we have already been through Blackfire Crater. The first time Wigglytuff and I went through, it was no less frustrating to be swept out of the cave after hours of walking through barren darkness and finally discovering a room full of precious crystals. It had been my fault that we failed, and right after we were blasted out of the room..." He paused, and glanced at Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff cheerfully continued for him, "I hit him, just like you did, Flame. And that was how we became best friends!"

Everyone but Chatot and Wigglytuff were left in stunned silence. Then, Loudred roared, "You did WHAT?!"

Without paying any mind to what Loudred just said, Wigglytuff addressed, "Now that Flame and Julia have returned safely and as disheartened as we intended, let's go back to our regular duties!"

"That is my line!" squawked Chatot brightly, then led the way back into the tent with Wigglytuff joyfully in tow. For another moment, all others were still unable to do anything but watch them leave and try to process what had just happened.

"Wigglytuff _slapped_ Chatot?"

"Eek! I didn't know he had that in him!"

"And that's how they became best friends, hey hey?!"

"By golly, what a story!"

"That's ENOUGH, guys! We'd BETTER listen to what the Guildmaster SAID or else we'll likely get our BUTTS kicked!"

That effectively got everyone moving and they pelted into the tent, suddenly in realization that Wigglytuff was, indeed, capable of random acts of violence. Flame still couldn't believe that he himself had the guts to slap Chatot, but the thought that Wigglytuff would really do that to his close friend was outlandish! However, it did explain why they both started laughing so much.

A paw rested on Flame's back and Julia was suddenly nudging him towards the tent.

"We may have gotten pranked, but we'll still get in trouble if we're caught shirking our work!" She grinned up at him, and he rolled his eyes before walking along himself.

* * *

The light of the full moon streamed in through the windows, illuminating a single figure. Chatot gazed outside through the bars, his head raised. As much as he loved the Guild, it was also his cage. Within it he was trapped, all of his joy restricted to few occasions, such as the Blackfire Crater pranks and watching the other Guild members interact with each other – their friendships, their overcoming of hard times...

And yet he knew that he was free to go at any time, but a promise held him back, a promise that he made long ago before he even knew that he and Wigglytuff were going to end up here; a promise that he intended to keep.

He whistled a few minor notes, his tail instinctively swinging back and forth in time. Finally, he turned away from the window and hopped resignedly over to the ladder.

* * *

A figure slipped silently through the dripping cave, weaving in and out of boulders with practiced precision. He dashed a short way before abruptly stopping and ducking, listening for the sound of another Pokémon. Luckily for him, he was completely alone in the cavern.

Straightening up, he strode towards the glow. The time had come. His purpose would be fulfilled. The glow beckoned to him, as if it was daring him to come and get it.

A smirk appeared on his face, then he continued forwards. The first time he had done this, in Treeshroud Forest, he was afraid that someone might be lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on him. He was not yet used to working alone. But now, he knew.

The second time gear was his.

* * *

**Hmm, another Chatot moment? I wonder what's going on with that guy...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Welcome back! I haven't actually completed a chapter in weeks, but I was backed up by four chapters, so it's all good! Just a disclaimer: I have nothing against Americans. I think that most Americans are awesome and I'd love to go to the United States. However, if us igloo-dwellers are best known for saying 'eh,' I had to reference it at some point in this story. Because even if the main characters and virtually ALL characters say 'eh,' I need to reference those in the minority who don't. XD (I still can't imagine a country where people don't say 'eh!')**

**As usual, enjoy and review, if you'd like to help me out. Reviews are a writer's best friends.**

* * *

The last time it happened, Flame hadn't been watching Julia. She had been staring forwards, paralyzed in fear. This time, when Julia suddenly staggered and dropped to her knees, Flame was standing right by her side and watched it occur.

Shortly after breakfast, Bugsy approached Julia, looking embarrassed.

"So, you all are leaving now, eh?" he asked, scratching his head awkwardly. He received an affirmative response, then, blushing, said, "Last night was really nice – that is, the battle and our date. Maybe, sometime in the future, would you want to do it again? Er, battle, I mean?"

Laughing, Julia grinned at him. "Why not? Do you have a PokéGear so we can exchange numbers?"

"Yeah, right here." Bugsy pulled out his little PokéGear from one of the pockets on his shorts jumpsuit, which was light green instead of blue, like Julia's. The exchange was quick – they simply held out the PokéGears back-to-back and suddenly they were registered in each others' device. Such a process baffled Flame, and she wondered why Pokémon weren't taught to utilize gadgets, too. After all, it was pretty useful to be able to talk to someone on the other side of the whole region. If Flame had one of those, she could talk with Totodile, or Chiki.

The thought of Chiki stirred odd emotions within her. When she played with those two as a Cyndaquil, they were all best friends. Now, not only were they separated, but Totodile had been turning into a tough, ruthless jerk, thanks to that asshat of a trainer, Noah. And Chiki, whether he followed in that path or not, would eventually replace Flame on Julia's team.

_That bastard! _Flame remembered, her eyes narrowing automatically. _At first, I thought he wasn't that bad, but after being with Julia for a while, I'm beginning to see what a total jerk that guy was to me! If me and Chiki had never gotten swapped, he might've made me into a terrible person, too! I never want to return to that guy!_

"Catch you 'round?" Bugsy called out, and Flame realized that he was already walking away from them.

"Yeah, I'll see you later!" Julia replied, then looked to her team. "I've gotten pretty sick of this town. I hear the next one on our list, Goldenrod, is a lot bigger!" Personally, Flame really liked how with nature this town was, even if it was a little damp at times. The thought of a big city, full of people and bright lights, really didn't entice her that much.

"Well, at last!" exclaimed Sir Majestic Tail, his flames growing brighter. "A true, civilized city! I have quite missed refined people and solid ground beneath my hooves!"

"Yeah," agreed Fluffy, "it's kinda tough to get power around here. Everything seems to run on charcoal! Oh, and just so you know, Julia..." She puffed up slightly, her eyes serious. "There is no way in hell that I'm going to let you date a grass type. They're weak! Burn up like blades of grass! Don't even catch any grass types!"

Julia began to protest, but Sir Majestic Tail added, "Indeed. Something stronger might suit your fancy, and best interests better, such as a fire type."

"Electric!" Fluffy snapped, jolting him.

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" Flame sighed, watching Sir Majestic Tail struggle to regain his composure. "And Fire-Butt, don't you know that it's a pointless argument to get yourself into?"

"You're handling this maturely," Julia noted, glancing down at her with raised eyebrows. Flame simply nodded, trying to brush off the praise without flushing. Fluffy looked like she was about to comment on that, but thought better of it and ignored her.

Suddenly, Julia stopped and bent down, her arm extending to take something on the ground. Peering over her shoulder, Flame noticed a small, rectangular piece of paper with writing on it. The girl straightened and kept frowning at it as she walked.

"This is – " she began, but the paper slipped from her fingers. Suddenly, she grabbed her head, screwing up her eyes tightly, and collapsed to her knees.

"Julia!" Flame gasped, and instantly put a paw on her shoulder. Panic surged through her and her mind reeled. _What's happening?! Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?_

"'Giovanni will pay for what he's done to me.'" It came out in hardly more than a murmur, but Flame caught it. It sounded like Julia was not just saying it, but echoing something she had heard. Julia raised her head and looked to Flame, her eyes bewildered.

"It – it just happened again," she said, shaking slightly. "I saw – no, I heard – someone say that Giovanni will pay." Flame stared, then shook her head.

"That...can't be it," she blinked, trying to remember if she had heard anything that Julia could have picked up on. Instead of remembering a voice, however, a powerful sense of déjà vu came over her, almost causing her to lose her balance as well. _This – this has happened before! She was sure of it. But...when? And how could she have just 'heard' a voice say something twice? This doesn't make any sense!_

But it only took a moment more of thinking to realize that it did. At the Ruins of Alph, right before the Unowns swarmed in, Julia had said afterwards that she had a vision of them. Could it be that what had happened there just happened again?

"Let me see that," Flame insisted, pointing to the paper. Julia, still in a state of confusion, lifted it up to Flame's eye level. Behind her, Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy crowded in to see, too. Of course, Flame was unable to read the text, but the picture on it...

Her eyes became wide and she exclaimed, "That's him! That's Noah!" Glancing back at Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail, she filled in for them, "My trainer."

"What?!" gasped Sir Majestic Tail, his eyes wide. "But – but is Julia not your trainer?" Fluffy nodded in agreement to his question. _Did we never tell them?_ Flame wondered briefly, but wasted no time explaining, "Julia's Chikorita was accidentally swapped with me, so Noah and Julia have each others' Pokémon."

"Well, good riddance!" snapped Fluffy, turning up her nose. "I'm glad that you didn't get stuck with a grass type, Julia."

Nobody but Flame seemed to remember that Julia was still on the ground, and she asked, "Is this the same thing as what happened at the Ruins of Alph?"

Julia thought about it, standing slowly, then replied, "Yeah, I think so. Back then, I also got dizzy and my vision went black before I saw that vision. But this time..." She broke off, deep in thought, then went on, "This time, though, I didn't _see_ anything. I just heard a voice. Only that feeling was the same."

"Did you do anything to trigger it?" Flame asked. "Obviously, it was picking up Noah's trainer card that made you have that vision...thing. Did you maybe touch something back then?"

"I guess you're right about the card being the trigger. It did sound like Noah's voice. But then... You're right, I did touch something. I backed up into a pillar and after I bumped into it, I had that vision."

Hearing that lit up Flame's eyes. _I knew it! I'm on to something!_ However, the question of what it meant still wasn't answered.

"Perhaps, if I really did see the future then, I'm hearing it again now," Julia offered slowly, turning the trainer card over in her fingers. "That means that Noah will say something like that at some point."

"You know what I think?" Fluffy asked, smiling at them. "I think you're both out to lunch. Really, Flame, you're not even taking this outlandish idea with a grain of salt?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "Remind me next when Arceus pays you a visit for coffee!"

"Arceus would not drink coffee, he would drink only the finest teas from – "

"Shut up, Fire-butt."

It was true, however. Flame had truly just accepted that Julia heard something, as she had a few days ago. _I should be more skeptical of this. Why wouldn't I want more proof?_

"Whatever. Let's just get to stinkin' Goldenrod city," Flame sighed, leading the way onward. The others didn't protest her going on, so they just followed.

Ilex Forest loomed ahead of them, the tall peaks of trees grasping out towards the sky. The moment they stepped onto the path, everything around them seemed far darker. Inevitably, Flame backed away to allow Julia to lead, but stayed right by her side.

Then, Julia stopped walking.

_I know this place, _she thought. _I've been here before; there's no doubt about that. _A second voice in Julia's head yelled_, No, you haven't! The farthest you've ever gone out of New Bark town was into the forest behind your house! How could you have been to Ilex Forest?_ That was a good question.

"Is something wrong?" Flame asked, putting a paw on Julia's hand. As cute as it was when Flame did that, Julia couldn't help but feel embarrassed by her concern.

"No, I'm all good," Julia replied brightly, smiling, then kept going onwards.

The path winded and curved, opening into glades or dead ends. And here, where there grew no tall grass, wild Pokémon leapt out from anywhere. Flame quickly shot down any grass type Pokémon that she could, and anything that came out of the air was in Fluffy's domain. All Sir Majestic Tail did was whine and stomp disgustedly on "those hideous little bug monsters!" and fret about the possibility of his coat getting dirtied.

After an hour of constant wandering around, it became evident that something was very wrong. Julia had been tracking with the map function on her PokéGear, but the little arrow that represented their current location kept hopping around illogically and the paths it told Julia to take didn't exist.

"Help me!"

The cry came from some Pokémon, but Julia could tell right away that it was a distress call. She looked to her team, then raced towards the voice. It wasn't very far, and in no time, Julia and her group stood at the edge of a clearing. Sitting in the very middle were a pair of Pokémon; a Sunflora and a Maractus. Well, not sitting.

Maractus was furiously attacking Sunflora, but it was evident that he was losing the battle. The Sunflora far outmatched him in strength and struck him precisely with vines and flying leaves, pushing him back. He looked up and, seeing Julia, cried out, "Please save me from this monster!"

Before Julia could even tell her to get in there, Flame leapt at Sunflora, scratching her lightly to get her attention. It worked – Sunflora turned her focus from Maractus to Flame, and she whipped her roughly with vines, much more painfully than the Quilava expected. Flame stumbled back, then ignited and shot embers at Sunflora.

Sunflora nimbly dodged and retaliated with a Razor Leaf attack. It was a direct hit. Wincing in pain, Flame changed her strategy and curled up to attack with Flamewheel. Somehow, Sunflora kept dodging, striking with Vine Whip or Razor Leaf constantly.

A bolt of electricity arced over Flame and struck the unsuspecting Sunflora, instantly paralyzing her. Flame turned back to see Fluffy, who just grinned at her. However, she dealt the final blow herself, a fire-enhanced Scratch attack. Sunflora collapsed to the ground, unable to battle.

"Oh, you've saved me!" cried out Maractus excitedly, hugging Flame tightly. Flame winced at the prickly spikes on his arms but didn't object to the praise. Just as Julia began to approach them, she heard Fluffy bleat in surprise and saw a light out of the corner of her eyes.

Fluffy was glowing, and her form began to change. All four of the others watched in shock as she rose to nearly twice her height, and her fluffy form thinned out. When the light faded, it was not a Mareep who stood there, but a Flaaffy. Flame gaped.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Flame," Fluffy snapped at her, her eyes narrowed. "I've simply evolved. What do I look like?"

Flame's ears drooped and she muttered, "You're on your hind legs. Naturally."

Fluffy did, in fact, stand on her hind legs now. Her front hooves had become paws and so had her back ones. Her fluff had thinned out and now ringed her neck and covered the top of her head, and the fur underneath was pink. Partially because Flame was short for her species, Fluffy stood at least a decimetre taller than Flame now.

She beamed at Flame, suddenly smug. "Well, would you look at that!" She walked forwards casually, her arms swinging as she did. "This is so easy! Why, you're completely correct! My body was made for walking, just like a human's!"

Flame looked like she was going to cry.

Grinning guiltily at Flame's misery, Julia turned her attention back to Maractus, who was poking Sunflora now with an arm. Unable to help but feel a bit sorry for the Sunflora, she asked him, "So, what's a Maractus doing all the way out in Ilex Forest? Kinda far from Unova, eh?"

To Julia's slight relief, Maractus stopped messing with the fallen Pokémon to answer, "Me and my trainer came here on vacation, but we were separated after we were attacked by a mob of Pokémon! They just came right out of nowhere! I managed to fight them all off," he continued, beginning to gloat, "but this one Sunflora just wouldn't give up! If you hadn't come to finish her off, it might have ended badly for me."

"What about your trainer? Where did they go?"

"Oh, she ran off as soon as the Pokémon attacked." As stupid as that sounded, Julia had heard pretty lousy rumours about Unovans, so she wasn't even surprised.

"So, she's lost too, then?" Julia asked, half aware that Fluffy and Flame were suddenly waging a full-scale war against each other with Sir Majestic Tail desperately trying to break them up with wails of, "You may burn down the entire forest!" and, "Please, be reasonable!"

"Lost as you all?" guessed Maractus, glancing down at Sunflora, who had begun to get up again. She stood, then looked about at the Pokémon quarrelling before resting her gaze on Julia.

Without being provoked, several thick vines whipped out from the ground at her command and wrapped themselves tightly about Julia, bringing her to the ground. Flame noticed and broke away from her battle, eyes wide.

"Julia!" she cried out, wielding an Ember attack. Fluffy was quicker, however, and struck Julia with a bright bolt of electricity. Unlike previous attacks by Fluffy, this one was more powerful and Julia let out an involuntary squeak in protest. The vines did not recede, either, which was Flame's cue to go ahead with the Embers.

Sunflora jumped back but not quickly enough; she sustained a mild burn on one of her leaf-arms. This time, the vines became slack and Julia wiggled free easily.

"Now, Flame! Finish her off with Flamewheel!"

Although the voice was faint and mostly drowned out by the roar of flames, Julia heard, just before Flame knocked Sunflora out, a bewildered voice.

"Flame? Julia?! Eek!"

Then she was out as Flame collided into her. The Quilava righted herself, rising onto her hind legs, then frowned at Julia.

"Did you just hear...?" All Julia could do was nod. Sunflora, laying there on the ground in a completely trashed state, looked so pitiful that she didn't want to think about it too much. The Pokémon looked strong, too. Had Fluffy not put a ban on grass types, Julia surely would have captured her. Somehow, it was this combination of her being strong and what she had said that turned Julia's stomach over several times.

"Come on, guys, let's go find Maractus' trainer," Julia sighed, then turned away without looking back. Flame seemed to sense her concern and, sticking her tongue out one last time at Fluffy, followed Julia closely. Another half hour slid by, and yet Julia had no idea whether they were making progress or not. Nothing looked familiar, and they stayed on the paths, so Julia figured that at the very least, they weren't going in circles.

After a prolonged silence, Flame finally spoke up, "Do you want to go exploring, Julia?"

Julia was caught completely off-guard. "E-exploring? Now?"

"Well, we've got nothing better to do, and it's not like we're going to find our way out of here anytime soon, so why not?"

She bit back the response of, "We ought to focus on getting out of the forest," and said instead, "Why not, indeed." She was so tired of just walking with a single goal in mind, and she _had_ said earlier to Flame that she never had time just to explore and have fun. "Yeah, let's explore!"

Flame's eyes lit up and she ran ahead, intent on taking the lead. "Then, let's go!"

"Hey! What about us?!" complained Fluffy, who jolted Julia to stop her in her tracks. "And don't forget Maractus, too! You said that you were going to help him find his trainer! Don't you dare go back on your word!"

"I think exploring's a great idea!" cut in Maractus, beaming. "I've never been in Johto before, and this forest looks like it's hiding secrets! Maybe we'll even find treasure hidden somewhere!"

That brought a grin to Julia's face, especially after seeing Fluffy's expression of 'why-do-I-even-bother.' Maractus danced up to Flame and Julia and skipped along behind them, peering under rocks and behind trees and bushes for anything that could be considered treasure. While he was doing that, Flame kept marching in the front, occasionally grabbing Julia's hand and steering her towards something interesting.

"Look! What's that over there?" she cried out and scurried over to a large boulder, motioning for Julia to follow with her paw. Julia walked to it to see what Flame had found. Half-hidden within a patch of tall weeds was a long piece of cerulean blue cloth, which Flame lifted gently on a claw.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Flame asked, holding it out for her to see. "And somebody got rid of it just because the end's a bit torn!" She stretched out and presented it to Julia. "Here, have it! It can be a sign of our friendship!" Smiling, Julia took the fabric and tied it around her right wrist in a knot.

"I'll find something for you, too," Julia promised, then added, "It is very pretty." The cloth felt comfortable around her wrist, and besides the little rip, it did look quite nice. There was hardly any dirt on it.

"Could you two not stop so frequently?" whinnied Sir Majestic Tail grouchily. "My hooves are getting sore from all of this soft ground, and Arceus forbid that my fur gets dirty again!"

"Well, we've actually found a lot of useful items," Julia defended. "Two Super Potions, a couple of empty PokéBalls, a Full Heal, and a bag of apple chips." Of course, they had already tucked into the apple chips and now none remained, much to Flame's initial disappointment.

"Yep!" Maractus agreed, spinning about in a circle. "I found some stuff, too!" What he had found were sparkly pieces of foil garbage and a sheet of bubble wrap, the latter of which made Julia jealous of him. She loved bubble wrap; coincidentally, the fights she had over who got to pop the bubble wrap with Jordan were one of her biggest reasons for despising him as a child. Having to live with him ten months out of the year was always a pain.

The brief dispute seemed to have been won by Maractus, so all Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy could do was grumble to themselves as they stormed after them. By the time a few minutes of walking went by, however, it became clear that there had been no need to complain. The trees began to thin out around them and the ground became brighter.

At last, Julia stepped out past the last tree and laughed in relief, grinning with her arms spread out wide.

"Arceus! That took way too long, but we're out!"

Beside her, Flame flopped onto the ground in exhaustion and mumbled up at her a weak agreement. Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail also both sat down, panting.

"Maractus! Is that you?!"

Julia turned to face the voice and saw a girl with fluffy green hair run towards her Pokémon, who dashed towards her as well. They hugged for a moment, then the girl began cooing to him.

"Were you lonely in that big, ugly forest? Oh, and you found this bubble wrap! You're such a little darling, Tussy!" She stood and smiled at Julia and asked, "Did you all help him find his way out? We got separated, but, thanks to you, we're together again! Is there anything I can do for you in return?"

Julia began to say that it was fine, but the girl cried out, "Wait! I've got just the thing! Hold on a second!" She pulled off her backpack and dug through it, tossing out loose scraps of paper and energy bar wrappings. As she did that, Maractus danced around, catching the garbage as it fell with unspoken glee. Suddenly, the girl pulled out a blue and red Great Ball and threw it to Julia, who was unprepared and completely missed it.

"Have him!" the Unovan said, smiling. "I caught him here, but I doubt that I'll ever actually be able to use him in battle. When Julia picked it up, she looked at the girl and shook her head.

"But this is your Pokémon, right? Can't you give it to one of your friends or family members?" She felt guilty accepting a Pokémon as a reward for pretty much nothing, especially if the girl was a foreigner. "This is your first visit to Johto, eh? Couldn't this be like a souvenir or something?"

The girl burst into laughter, grinning. "You said it! Nobody in Unova says it! So it's true!" Julia stared and exchanged a glance with Flame, who had, by now, sat up again. _Did I say something stupid? What's so funny?_

Catching the confused look on Julia's face, the girl quickly explained, "You said 'eh!' Really, that's just so awesome – eh?" She seemed to think she was hilarious and laughed harder. Still confused, Julia watched the girl wave and walk off with her Maractus, still clutching her sides and howling with laughter while yelling out random sentences and adding 'eh' to the end of them. Didn't everybody say 'eh' from time to time? What was so strange about that?

"So...what do you plan on doing with that?" Fluffy finally asked, walking up to her and pointing to the Great Ball. Julia had forgotten that she was still holding it and now could do nothing but sigh.

"I guess keep it?" she suggested, pressing the centre button to see who she was stuck with now. She was pleasantly surprised. It was a Lanturn.

The yellow and blue Pokémon landed flat onto the ground, slapping the ground with its fins in panic. A second later, it was back in its Ball. Obviously, it would need a fish tank if it was going to come along with them. _A fish tank with wheels,_ Julia decided.

"A water type," Flame observed, gazing at the Great Ball in interest. "He'll come in handy if we ever have to face a Groudon." That comment earned her three stares, to which she replied, "What?"

"That was just a random thing to say," Fluffy explained, shrugging. "What is that, anyways? The name sounds like a ground type, but I've never heard of it."

"Nor I, for that matter," added Sir Majestic Tail, lifting his nose.

"It's a legendary Pokémon from Hoenn," Julia explained, then glanced back at Flame. "Where'd you hear about him?"

"I forget."

All of a sudden, there came a shrill scream from farther down the route. The four of them turned to see what was going on, and Julia's jaw dropped.

The same girl from Unova was being held in the air by a boy dressed in a purple suit using telekinesis. But that wasn't the shocking part. Standing behind the boy were two others, one of whom being a girl, also in a purple suit, who Julia didn't recognize.

The other was Noah.


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, aren't you all lucky! An early chapter! I finished chapter sixteen, then, realizing how incurably impatient I am, decided to upload this chapter ahead of time. You're welcome.**

**Anyways, enjoy and review, as always!**

* * *

Chatot entered the Guildmaster's room long before the sun rose, a grave expression on his face. Wigglytuff expected him already, and he stood in the middle of the room with his paws folded. No goofing around.

Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Chatot began, "I am glad, sir, that you recognize the magnitude of this situation." Wigglytuff simply nodded, his green eyes saddened.

"And we both know what may happen if something is not done about it?" Another nod.

Chatot closed his eyes, remembering. The night after Julia and Flame returned from their 'expedition,' long after all Guild members were fast asleep, Officer Magnezone paid them a visit to tell them that the thief had struck again in Limestone Cavern. Two of the five time gears were stolen, and the thief was moving very quickly.

The officer's wish was simply to put the Guild under sharper lookout, but as he had said that, Chatot and Wigglytuff exchanged a glance of knowing what needed to be done. Now, less than five hours later, it was time to put it into words.

"Ironically, Loudred was very correct when he said that Officer Magnezone was incompetent," Chatot sighed, "and I wouldn't trust him to find any way to catch this person." He looked at the Guildmaster and took a step forwards, his expression fierce now. "We must take matters into our own paws."

"Yep," Wigglytuff agreed sombrely, his ears drooping. "But we do have an entire Guild at our disposal. Many of our trainees are more than ready to battle a powerful enemy."

"You are right," Chatot began, frowning, "but what of those who are not? The most recent three applicants are the ones I am referring to."

"I know." Pondering for a moment, Wigglytuff continued, "Even if they aren't ready, we'll probably need them. Besides, this will be their first real mission."

A small smile was allowed to be exchanged before they returned to the focus at hand.

"I suppose that Flame and Julia are ready enough, but what of Bidoof?" Chatot sighed. "He is...not quite at the level he needs to be at at this point."

Wigglytuff quickly scurried off to return in a moment with a notepad and charcoal pencil. "We'll have to scramble all the teams up to make this work," he explained, setting the notepad on the ground. Chatot eyed it, then frowned at the Guildmaster.

"Is that really wise, sir?" he asked. "The purpose of our prank, to bring them together as a team, could be undone by that."

"Not at all, Chatot!" Wigglytuff smiled then said, "I think their friendship is strong enough to live past a little expedition!"

Giving a nod in agreement, Chatot turned his attention to the notepad.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked, and Wigglytuff nodded in agreement, his face becoming sombre again.

Before the teams were even made up, Chatot knew what the outcome would be. He imagined the morning – everyone gathered for morning attendance before he walked in with Wigglytuff to deliver the news. Everyone would gasp, and perhaps Loudred would yell about Magnezone's uselessness, the point at which Chatot would have to hide a smile. He would then explain the two-day journey to their location at Foggy Forest and announce the groups.

How the teams would react to being separated, he could only guess. Sunflora and Loudred would probably yell about not being able to care less; Corphish and Diglett would likely be disappointed; Bidoof would try not to look thrilled about not having to be allied with Croagunk; Chimecho, being a member that did not usually go out on expeditions, would not feel too bad about having to be with Pokémon that she did not usually socialize with; and Dugtrio, hopefully, wouldn't mind not coming on the expedition. After all, someone needed to stay behind. Flame and Julia... Meh. They would simply have to accept that they were not always going to work together.

And the three other Pokémon who did not train at the Guild but volunteered to help shouldn't have to be split at all. They were powerful enough to hold their own.

The hour crawled by as slowly as it could.

* * *

"I DON'T care at all, Chatot! In fact, I REALLY don't like SUNFLORA anyways!"

"Oh my gosh, you ass! Fine! I don't care either!"

When Julia woke up that morning, she was shocked to learn that not only had a second time gear been stolen, but the Guild was to leave the next day on an expedition to Foggy Forest to try to intercept the thief. On top of that, to balance out the separate travelling groups, all teams had to be split up. While Julia didn't mind not being in the same group as Flame, she would have loved to be able to have him at her back. She felt far safer with someone she knew well.

"Ahem! If I may have your attention!" shrilled Chatot, flapping his wings in agitation. "I will be announcing the teams now!" Wigglytuff handed him a notebook covered in scribbles and a few doodles, most of which were of perfect apples. For once, the Guildmaster seemed subdued and not in a playful mood. That alone silenced the students far better than any amount of Chatot's yelling.

"The first group is as follows: Sunflora, Corphish, and Julia." Julia glanced at her new teammates nervously. They were both at least a year older than her and she hoped she could hold her own with them.

"The second group is Loudred, Croagunk, and Flame." That made both Julia and Flame shudder a bit. While Loudred was raucous and irritating at times, Croagunk was downright creepy. He just sat in a corner of the bottom floor next to a big cauldron, chuckling quietly to himself. Bidoof once told them that Croagunk sometimes slipped into his room in the middle of the night, either to sleep or just to watch them. Hopefully, he wouldn't act as terrifyingly creepy on the expedition.

"The third group is Diglett, Bidoof, and Chimecho," Chatot finished, his gaze sweeping over the Guild to see if anyone objected to that. "Dugtrio will be staying behind to take care of the Guild while we are away – after all, even graduated exploration teams come back here for new missions daily. Of course, the Guildmaster and myself will travel as a pair."

"Why do YOU two get to – " Loudred began, but was cut off by Wigglytuff's plaintitive whine.

"Why do I have to go with you?" he complained, crossing his arms and turning away. Chatot gaped. "You're so boring and professional all the time! I'll go with anyone else! Please, just not you!"

Looking stung, Chatot protested, "We agreed that it was better if – "

"'We agreed,' blah blah blah!" Wigglytuff put his paws in his ears, still turned away. "Boooooring!"

"Guildmaster, please, don't be difficult right now – "

"You meanie."

It was difficult not to laugh at the entire exchange and Chatot and Wigglytuff's respective expressions of disbelief and childlike stubbornness. Chatot cleared his throat, composing himself again, and was about to keep speaking when Wigglytuff added, "And don't call me 'Guildmaster!'"

The silence was finally broken by giggles, and Chatot ducked his head in embarrassment.

"Everyone, please, listen up!" he trilled, trying to look stern. "As a final note, we have also asked three powerful Pokémon outside of the Guild for assistance. They were gracious enough to join us, so please treat them with respect." Excitement over who they could be buzzed throughout the room to replace the laughter as Chatot finished by telling them to get ready today for the long journey tomorrow. Sunflora and Corphish made their way to Julia's side and beamed at her while Flame was dragged off by Croagunk. Chatot seemed to be trying to protest with Wigglytuff further, but Wigglytuff kept his paws over his ears and danced around the room gleefully, forcing Chatot to chase him.

"So we all get to work together! Yippee!" giggled Sunflora, spinning around. "Let's all do really well, okay?"

"Hey hey hey! Of course we'll do well!" Corphish insisted. "And let's be the ones to find out why there's a constant fog cover in Foggy Forest!" He looked seriously from Sunflora to Julia and continued in a low voice, "They say that nobody knows what's hidden in the forest is because anyone who goes through the forest loses their memory!"

Julia's pulse quickened and her eyes grew wide as Wigglytuff went by, giggling, and followed by an exhausted Chatot. "Loses...their memory?" she repeated, staring.

"That's right, hey hey! Pretty suspicious, eh?"

_Could that be it? _Julia wondered, trying to look absorbed in Sunflora's heated retelling of a jerk move Loudred pulled on another exploration_. Maybe I went to Foggy Forest and I lost my memory there! It's a possibility, but wouldn't someone have seen me there as a human? Then again, if that thief is so good at getting around unnoticed, then maybe I could have been, too._

Flame eventually met up with Julia again to get prepared for the journey. As they left the Guild with Wigglytuff still dancing around Chatot, they could hear Sunflora and Loudred screaming at each other again. How could they even stand to be on the same team if they hated each other so much?

"Hey, Julia..." Flame's voice trailed off as they walked down the massive dirt stairs to Treasure Town, then he picked it up again. "I've been thinking about your visions that you keep getting, and...well, I've noticed that they follow a pattern." He looked thoughtful as he continued, "When you heard Azurill's scream, that first time, you picked up his apple. Then, when you saw Drowzee, it was because he bumped your shoulder!" His points were valid, and the more Julia thought about it, the more she realized he was on to something.

"And I picked up a rock when I saw the vision of Chatot and Wigglytuff, at Blackfire Crater," Julia continued enthusiastically, "and it was when I bumped into the stalactite that I saw them again!"

"I earnestly thank you for not telling me that they already went through," Flame cut in, grinning, "though they did that years ago – maybe when they were our age." He grinned more at the thought of that, then added, "You saw what they looked like, right? Were they totally adorable?"

His expression as he said that made Julia snicker. "Sure, they were cute. Kinda like what they look like now, but smaller with big eyes. Alright, Flame, you're giggling like a little girl. They weren't that cute." It had been quite odd, in fact, to see Chatot and Wigglytuff as little kids, Julia reflected.

"Ah, right," Flame said quickly, blushing and turning his head away. At this point, they were in town, busy with Pokémon rushing about to get supplies. It was late in the year, meaning that winter was coming soon. Julia supposed that some Pokémon hibernated and had to get all of their food as soon as possible.

"Yoo-hoo! Julia! Flame! We found you!"

From behind the pair dashed Sunflora, Corphish, Loudred, and Bidoof, the latter of which was huffing at the back of the group and struggling to keep up.

"Why DIDN'T you guys WAIT for us?" asked Loudred, grinning. Beside him, Diglett popped up and smiled pleasantly up at them.

"You were just too slow!" Sunflora informed him, sticking out her tongue. He made a face at her.

"Hey hey hey, knock it off!" Corphish snapped at them, scuttling away. "We'd better get everything that we need while it's still there, hey hey!" He led them over the bridge, now ignoring Sunflora and Loudred's 'who-was-more-annoying' fight, towards the Kecleon brothers' shop. As always, they grinned as the group approached.

"Welcome!" they greeted in unison, also overlooking the argument. "What can we do for you today?"

Corphish put up a bag, likely full of Poké, and called up, "I'll have five big apples, hey hey!" Without hesitation, the purple brother slid into the tent and tossed five apples over his shoulder onto the counter while the other counted out the money. He took most of the coins and handed the rest back.

"This isn't even half of what I have, hey hey," Corphish let Julia and Flame know. "Even though Chatot and Wigglytuff take most of the earnings from jobs, it _is_ possible to acquire a good amount of cash."

"Loudred, you're just a brat!" Sunflora squealed at Loudred before sidling up to the tent, smiling slyly and stroking the countertop seductively. "I'll have a Pecha Scarf, if you'd please." Loudred rolled his eyes at her and folded his arms, but the Kecleons humoured her.

"Anything for you, miss Sunflora!" they told her, then she was given a pink scarf. "Just this time, it's on us, but only because you're so lovely!" they added.

"You're too kind!" she giggled, tying the scarf around her neck. "Are any of you guys going to buy anything?" she addressed Loudred, Flame, and Julia.

"I'll just get some apples," Flame replied, walking up to the counter. Loudred shrugged, arms still crossed.

"Oh, don't give me such a look, Loudred," Sunflora snickered at him, tapping his nose. "Not even you could resist my charms."

When they had left the tent, Loudred finally growled, "Y'know your 'charms' really did NOTHING? You ain't as SEXY as you THINK you are."

"You think I don't know that, numb-nuts?" she scowled, adjusting the scarf. "I'm not an idiot. The point is that I got this for free. Whether they were actually fooled by me or not hardly matters."

"Just ADMIT that you completely thought – " Loudred's to-be insult was cut off abruptly by a horrendous stench that assaulted the group. Julia put her paws over her nose, which she knew was far more powerful than the one she had as a human, and Flame gagged.

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora coughed, fanning the air. "What a dreadful scent!"

"Oof!" Bidoof cringed. "That's something nasty, all right!"

"Hey hey! Who cut the cheese?"

"Well, well, well. I wonder who these fools blocking our path could be."

The new, deep and silky voice came from the Skuntank attached to the foul scent. Beside the Skuntank, flying low in the air, were Zubat and Koffing. _No way! Are those the same two bullies Flame and I encountered the day we met?! What are they doing here?!_

On either side of them, the townspeople parted, staying as far away from the newcomers as possible, many with their noses plugged. Julia avoided Skuntank's gaze, but she could not avoid that nasty stench.

"Chaw-haw-haw!" chuckled the Skuntank. "It appears that we are not yet acquainted. My name is Skuntank, and if you try 'n mess with me, I'll mess you up – permanently. These two are my friends, Zubat and Koffing. Now, move aside, if you'd please."

The order was clear enough. Reluctantly, Julia stepped to the side, pulling Flame with her. Sunflora and Loudred backed away with glares on their faces, Diglett went underground, and Corphish simply scuttled away down the path. However, Bidoof remained, his paws planted firmly on the ground and a determined expression on his face.

Skuntank chuckled again, walking around Bidoof in a slow circle, tail sliding from side to side.

"Hey, didn'tcha hear the boss?" yelled Zubat, dropping to flap his wings in Bidoof's face. Julia held back the urge to tell Bidoof to run.

"Yeah, you better listen to her, or she'll rip you apart, limb from limb!" added Koffing thickly. Her? That's a woman?! It was easy to tell by the way Skuntank walked, however; slowly, calculated, and distinctly femininely.

"Don't you look brave, Bidoof," smiled Skuntank, her voice like dripping honey. "Just standing there, directly defying my request. So I ask you – " She lowered her head to look directly into his eyes, her long tail swept casually around his body. " – will you kindly move your ugly-ass self out of my way?"

Bidoof just glared, but it was clear that he was beginning to crack; his legs trembled and his eyes weren't as fierce. Skuntank parted her lips and snarled at him through her fangs, then raised her tail up to rest it along her back. She took a few steps away, to the point that he seemed to think she was falling back, but forcefully shot a spray of foul-smelling fluid right into his face. Choking on the mist of the attack, Bidoof could not stand for another second before collapsing onto the ground.

"Bidoof!" Sunflora gasped, rushing over to pull him from the gas cloud. Already, Julia could catch a whiff of the harsher scent and backed further away. Skuntank turned back around, all of her movements like an Arbok's. She and her cohorts moved in, challenging the others with their gazes. Julia looked up and locked eyes with Koffing, who suddenly recognized her.

"Hey, chief!" he exclaimed, glaring at Julia and now Flame, too. "It's that little whore and her wimpy friend we told you about!"

"Whore?" growled Flame in fury, his back lighting up. "Don't you dare call Julia a whore!"

Skuntank laughed melodically, eyeing the duo. "You two are the ones, eh? Not surprising that losers like the two of you chose to join the wimpy-ass Wigglytuff Guild! Really, a Guild run by a fairy type is the only one suitable for you two!"

"How about YOU shut the HELL up!" bellowed Loudred, stomping forward. "Don't you DARE knock Wigglytuff! He's the STRONGEST Pokémon I know, let ALONE fairy type!"

"How about you step aside," sneered Skuntank, "unless you'd like to share the same fate as your friend?" She took a step towards him and he simultaneously stepped back. "That's what I thought." Having said the last words, she turned again and slunk away, Koffing and Zubat sticking out their tongues at them before hastily following.

Bidoof began to stir in Sunflora's arms and shook his head furiously, hopping to his paws.

"You jer – " he began, but Loudred put a hand over his mouth.

"Shut UP, you idiot!" he hissed. "Don't piss her off MORE."

"What a horrid Pokémon!" gasped Sunflora, glaring after her. "And you've met Koffing and Zubat, Team Eleblaze?"

Flame nodded and replied, "Those two were after my relic fragment the day Julia and I met. We managed to chase them down and knock them out, though, so I don't know why they're suddenly calling _us_ the wimps."

"I think they're the wimps!" huffed Sunflora, crossing her arms. "Those two couldn't even properly threaten you until they were with their big boss! Eek! I hate Pokémon like that!"

"I HOPE we never have to see THEM again!" Loudred agreed, letting go of Bidoof. Bidoof stared out down the path for a moment then nodded in agreement.

"Yup yup! They're nasty ones, by golly!" At that moment, Corphish came scuttling back over sheepishly and Diglett popped his head up.

"Is the coast all clear?" Diglett asked nervously. Loudred rolled his eyes and yelled, "YOU tell me, YOU'RE the sentry!"

"Hey hey hey! That Skuntank sure smelled something putrid!"

They began the return to the Guild, an ill-disguised hasty retreat from the possibility of crossing paths with Skuntank again. To Julia's amusement, Chatot was still chasing Wigglytuff around the room and Croagunk, Dugtrio, and Chimecho sat by the wall to watch. Other Pokémon from outside the Guild that came often to take jobs stayed a good distance away, except for Team Glee, consisting of Togekiss, Togepi, and Politoed, who jumped around, cheering on both of them.

At last, Chatot burst forward and tackled Wigglytuff to the ground before flying back up, breathing heavily. Wigglytuff hopped right back up as well, and just as Julia expected it to end, he bounced up to try and reach Chatot, who laughed manically and flew away throughout the room.

"What the FUCK is going on?!" asked Loudred, but even his incurably loud voice did not deter the two from their chase. Chimecho floated over, a small smile on her face.

"A rare display of extreme childishness," she explained, then, upon figuring out that she had only confused the newcomers more, she elaborated, "From time to time, especially after pulling the Blackfire Crater prank, something happens and they act more bizarre than usual. You remember the food fight a few moons ago, right, Loudred?"

Loudred thought about it for a moment, then laughed. "That was the BEST day of my LIFE at the Guild! Right outta NOWHERE, Wigglytuff tells Chatot that his voice is too high-pitched, and Chatot just CHUCKS his entire PLATE at him! Wigglytuff declared a FOOD FIGHT and we were all just throwing around OUR food!"

"I remember, too," Sunflora added, scowling. "You shoved your plate in my face!"

"And you, of course, returned the favour," Loudred shrugged. "We're even on THAT one."

"And there was also that stupid launching contest," Chimecho reminded, still smiling.

"THAT one!" Loudred began laughing and Corphish, Sunflora, and Diglett joined in, leaving Flame, Julia, and Bidoof to just shrug at each other.

"Hey hey hey! That one was a hoot!" Corphish managed to say between peals of laughter. "Somehow, Wigglytuff and Chatot dragged in a massive log, balanced it over a rock, and then took turns standing on the end while commanding Loudred to jump on the other end to send them flying, hey hey! Then they tried to figure out who went farther, but they both kept cheating!"

"Most TIRING day of my life," agreed Loudred.

"So, what? They just have stupid days?" Flame asked, watching as Chatot kept diving around in a most dangerous fashion and Wigglytuff continued to tirelessly chase him.

Sunflora nodded with a smile. "That's just it! And afterwards, they never mention it again and deny it if anybody says they did it!"

Suddenly, there came a loud crash as Chatot and Wigglytuff both fell down the ladder tunnel back into the crew room. Everyone rushed over to see if the game was over, but both came clambering back up, completely ignoring everyone else, then climbed up the second ladder. Curious, Julia followed them up, the entire Guild at her back.

When they came up, Chatot and Wigglytuff were suddenly waging a full-fledged battle, attacks flying everywhere. Team Glee wasted no time yelling for everyone to place their bets on who would win, and money was soon flying as well.

"This is insane," Flame whistled, watching Chatot soar and dive while using an array of sound-based attacks. "And I can't tell if they're just messing with us or if they're actually battling for real." It was difficult to tell, but based on the fact that Wigglytuff hadn't simply knocked him out with a 'yoom-tah,' it probably meant it was staged. Or maybe he didn't use it because he wanted a fair battle that would last longer? It really was impossible to tell.

The battle continued for another solid hour, and neither showed any signs of tiredness, until they suddenly both fell over, fast asleep. As nobody knew quite what to do with them then, Loudred and Sunflora each picked one up and carried them into the Guildmaster's room. The rest of the day was spent incredibly lazily, thanks to a complete lack of guidance from either the Guildmaster or the second-in-command, until Chatot burst from the room in the evening, Wigglytuff yawning behind him.

"Who won?" he asked, his eyes gleaming. For a good while, all was silent, until Loudred finally spoke up, "You both just fell asleep."

"Well, damn," Chatot muttered, then ruffled his feathers and stood up straighter. "Now that you've all wasted a full day, I suppose it is a good time now to – "

"Heya, Chatot, who won?" Wigglytuff interrupted sleepily, staggering over. Chatot observed him for a moment before replying, "Neither of us did. Anyways, as I was – "

"But one of us had to win!" wailed Wigglytuff. "If I won, you said I didn't have to be paired up with you! What does a tie mean?"

"That we stick to the original plan. Now, no more interr – "

"That's not fair! I demand a rematch!"

"Perhaps later, once I've finished explaining – "

"Right now! We need to settle this!"

Chatot snapped and finally yelled, "If you would kindly shut up for a few moments and let me say something to the Guild, that would be greatly appreciated!"

For a moment, Wigglytuff looked like he wanted to argue, but he just puffed out his cheeks and crossed his paws, muttering, "I would have won if it wasn't a tie, anyways..."

_That's actually a good point, _Julia realized_. If he didn't want to go with Chatot that badly, wouldn't he have just beaten the living daylights out of him? _

"Anyways, what I was trying to say – " Chatot shot a glare at Wigglytuff, " – is that it is about time to – "

"Good evening, Chatot, Guildmaster," interrupted another voice, and Chatot threw his wings in the air.

"I give up!" he squawked and shut himself in Wigglytuff's room. All turned to look at the newcomers, but they smelled them before they saw them. Smiling but obviously noting the stench, Wigglytuff introduced them.

"Everyone, these are the three non-Guild members who agreed to help us catch the thief! Please give a warm welcome to Koffing, Zubat, and Skuntank of Team Skull!"

Flame gaped at Julia as Skuntank sidled into the room, prompting everyone to cover their noses.

"A pleasure to meet you all," she smiled, directing her poisonous words at Flame and Julia. "I'm sure we'll all be able to get along just fine."


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome to chapter 15! Set off the party cannons! Well, to put it simply, things are starting to...heat up. *ba-dum tss* **

**From this chapter on, stuff that goes on (including in the Mystery Dungeon chapters) will be more intense and (hopefully) more interesting. **

**Don't forget to leave a review and enjoy!**

* * *

"What are you doing?! Let me down!"

Flame's ears folded back as she stared, paralyzed. Where did those three come from, all of a sudden? What were they doing to that girl? And, worst of all, why was _Noah_ with them?!

Slowly, Julia locked eyes with Flame, her expression sombre. Flame understood perfectly well and pulled her eyes away to look at the ground. They were going to help that girl, even if it meant Flame was going back to Noah right afterwards.

"Come on, Flame," Julia spoke, her voice suddenly firm, "we have to help her! If we do nothing, what kind of people are we? I promise you, Noah isn't going to get you back – ever."

Closing her eyes, Flame nodded. She trusted Julia, but hoped it wouldn't come to having to choose between giving her back or going against Noah's wishes. Without needing further encouragement, she dropped to all fours and ran at the Team Fury, flames ignited. Behind her, she could hear Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail in pursuit, but Julia was impossible to hear over the Unovan girl's shrill screeching.

"Hey, we have company!" alerted the Team Fury girl, pointing up at them. Her white hair, up in two fluffy Pignite-tails, was a stark contrast to her dark skin and ebony eyes. The psychic boy turned his head only slightly, a grin spreading over his face.

"Looks like our paths crossed again," he sneered as Flame and the others skidded to a halt in front of them. "I foresaw this yesterday, when we met." Flame glared at him, but couldn't help but glance at Noah. To her mortification, his cold eyes gazed steadily upon her and she began to tremble.

"Noah, you never told me that your Pokémon was stolen by Julia," the boy added, glancing back at him. Noah folded his arms slowly and replied, "You never had the need to know, Jerome. Not that you do now, either."

"That's 'cause you stole her from Elm's lab in the first place!" yelled Julia. "And you – " She pointed at Jerome, eyes blazing. " – you let go of that girl right this instant!"

"He's not gonna!" the girl snapped at her, shoving her way past Jerome, fists brandished. "Unless you're willing to fight?" Her fist suddenly shot out with unbelievable speed and smashed into Julia's cheek. Julia cried out and stumbled backwards onto the ground.

"Don't touch her!" Flame screeched and blasted embers at the girl before leaping up and slashing her arm. The girl was hardly affected, though, and she grabbed Flame around the neck, squeezing lightly.

"Keep your filthy paws offa me, you dirty little 'mon," she growled, pulling Flame closer to her face. Flame could smell her hot breath on her nose and panic surged through her body.

"Sir Majestic Tail, Fluffy! Attack her!" The pained command came from where Julia struggled to sit up, but her expression was fierce. Not hesitating to obey, Fluffy jolted the Team Fury girl with a Thunder and Sir Majestic Tail reared up and kicked her. The girl's grip on Flame loosened as she fell down and the Quilava leapt free, shaking.

"Tory!" exclaimed Jerome in shock. He released his psychic grip on the Unovan, letting her drop to the ground, and blasted all three Pokémon away with a powerful Psychic attack. Flame yelped as she went tumbling through the air and pain bloomed throughout her back when she collided with a tree. She flopped to the ground, her head spinning and patchy black spots swimming through her vision.

_No! I can't faint yet! _she thought in panic. _Julia needs me!_ Forcing herself to her paws, she tottered from side to side before furiously shaking her head to clear her head_. That boy can use psychic attacks on more than one of us at once, so maybe we need to attack at different times – me first, then Julia – no, Sir Majestic Tail or Fluffy, damn it! I need to stop thinking that Julia can actually _do_ anything!_

Her paws numbly drove her forwards and she was hardly aware of the pain in her back. She narrowed her eyes, willing herself to focus, then waited a far enough ways back, behind a bush, while Fluffy burst ahead, electrically charged. Now! decided Flame, and dashed as quickly as she could, flames flying. There he was, throwing her aside like a scrap of cardboard, then turning to grin at Flame –

_Shit! I misjudged!_ she realized, but she had too much momentum by then to stop. She could feel herself being lifted, and in a moment, she, too, would be tossed away...

Suddenly, the boy stopped as if paralyzed, then fell to the side, dropping Flame as he did. Behind the spot he had just stood was Julia, holding a large rock above her head. Flame stared for a moment, then ran to her, her fears melting. At first, Julia stared as if she couldn't process what had just happened, then she dropped the rock and crouched to grab Flame, laughing in relief.

"That was very bold of you, my lady," commented Sir Majestic Tail, trotting over. "And very crude. Could you not have picked a less...brutal...way to knock him out?"

"What else could I have done?" Julia shrugged, squeezing Flame to her chest.

Tory, the Team Fury girl, stood wearily and grabbed the collar of Jerome's shirt to drag him up. "You useless lump," she hissed, then, to Noah, "What were you doing, just standing around like that? Too afraid that you'd hurt your precious Pokémon?"

He was silent for a moment, then murmured, "Very interesting." Noah continued to watch Flame, his eyes betraying slight curiousity. Shrinking away from him, Flame stared back with her eyes wide. It was now. He was going to ask for her back right now and take her away from Julia forever.

But, without another word, he turned and walked away into the woods, not glancing back even once.

"H-hey! Where are you going?! Don't make me carry this fat-ass by myself!" hollered Tory, but he had already vanished. She pouted, then leered back at the group. "Don't expect this to be the last you see of us, losers!" Then, hauling Jerome over her shoulder, she stumbled after Noah into the cover of trees.

Julia collapsed at last, breathing heavily. Flame scrambled away and put a paw on her shoulder.

"Geez, Julia, are you – " She broke off instantly when she realized that her temporary trainer was crying, her shoulders shaking with each sob. "Holy crap, what's wrong?!"

"I – they just – I don't know!" Julia managed, trying to wipe away her tears with the blue cloth tied around her wrist. "I'm not trying to cry at all! I just do that sometimes, when I get freaked out. It's – it's nothing!"

Fluffy sighed and turned her nose up. "You could take a thousand volts without so much as the bat of an eyelash, but actually hit someone else and you cry up a waterfall!" A snicker escaped from Flame's mouth before she could resist it, but Julia smiled despite herself as well.

"But – but do you think I hurt...that guy?" she choked out. "He might try to sue me, or something –"

At that moment, the Unova girl let out a soft groan and sat up, rubbing her head. "Ooh, that was painful..." she muttered, squinting up at Julia, who extended a hand to her to help her up. The girl blinked in slight confusion, then took her hand. Julia pulled her up too suddenly, though, and the girl fell forwards into her.

"You...you saved me..." the girl said quietly, staring up at Julia from under her lashes. Then, unexpectedly, she cupped Julia's face in her hands and reached up. Before Flame realized what was happening, the girl's lips were pressed against Julia's.

_Wha – ?! She's kissing her?!_

Julia didn't seem to know how to react, for she just stood there dumbly until the girl pulled away from her. That was when she figured that embarrassment would be appropriate, so she turned away rapidly, her hands over her mouth and her face becoming redder than a tamato berry.

"That was for saving me," she girl explained, beaming. "Doesn't a knight in shining armour always want a kiss from the princess?"

"Uh, well..." Julia turned her head slightly, blushing harder. "It was unexpected, yeah, but..."

"You're so cute when you get all flustered like that! You liked it, didn't you?" When she received no reply, the girl decided to take that as an affirmative and she giggled. Flame couldn't believe that that had actually happened. _Some random girl that Julia saved kissed her, completely out of the blue! That's so wrong! Girls shouldn't be kissing girls! It's against nature!_

"My name's Jeannette, by the way," the girl added, her tiny green curls bobbing. "Who are you all?"

Because it was likely that Julia was unable to answer at the moment, Flame quickly introduced, "I'm Flame, that's Julia, and those are Fluffy and Fire-Butt."

"Again with the Fire-Butt?!" snapped Sir Majestic Tail, snorting flames. "It's 'Majestic Tail,' and you had best not mix it up ever again!"

Giggling again, Jeannette grinned and spoke, "Pleasure to meet you guys! You all seem like so much fun!"

"Just don't kiss me," Flame mumbled, glancing away into the forest where Noah had vanished. Luckily, it seemed like Jeannette didn't catch that, for she continued on cheerfully, "I guess you could call me a trainer, but I only keep Pokémon that are music-related, like Maractus here." The green Pokémon seemed to have run off when the fighting began, but now he returned, sheepishly waving at everyone.

"He's the best dancer there is," she praised, "and so I have lots of Pokémon that can make music or sing or dance! Wanna see 'em?"

"Erm, that's alright," Julia finally said, still slightly red-faced. "We have a lot to do, you see. Um...but, just out of curiousity, why were those Team Fury guys harassing you?"

Jeannette thought about it for a moment, humming to herself slightly, then replied, "Oh, I don't know. Something about 'normal' people. They kept saying that normal was useless, or something like that." She giggled, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. "But besides dropping me, I didn't get hurt or anything. I might've gotten, if you hadn't come in and rescued me, but who knows?"

_Normal, huh? _Flame wondered, frowning in thought. _Do they mean the normal type? Jerome did say something yesterday about most humans being the normal type. That's odd. Do they not like people who aren't anything out of the ordinary?_ Before she could manage to voice her thoughts, Jeannette continued on.

"Well, it's been great meeting you, Julia, Flame, Fluffy, and Fire-Butt!" At that last name, Sir Majestic Tail blanched and Fluffy smirked at him. "I won't hold you up if you're in a hurry, but could we exchange numbers?" She gave Julia a playful look, which, of course, caused her to blush again. "Y'know, if you see Meloetta or something. It's my dream to catch one, so you could call me if you see one! I know they aren't native to Johto, but you never know!"

Reluctantly, Julia pulled her PokéGear off its clip on her bag strap and held it out to the one Jeannette held up. The exchange of number data was, once again, very quick. Poor Julia looked so awkward, Flame couldn't help but pity her for having to be linked to this weird girl.

"Thanks, Jules!" giggled Jeannette, then added, "You don't mind if I call you Jules, right? You can call me Jenny, or Nettle, or Nettie, or whatever you want!"

"It's not a problem, uh, Nettie," Julia stammered, looking overly interested in the act of putting away her PokéGear. "I'll see you 'round, I guess?"

"Yep! I get the feeling we'll see each other again soon!" smiled Jeannette. She began to skip off, Maractus in tow, when she abruptly stopped, snatched a round red object from her bag, and tossed it to Julia, who was, once again, completely unprepared to catch it. Flame reacted and hopped in to snag it on a claw. Aroma spilled from it when she punctured its thin skin and tough body and she realized it was a fruit of sorts. However, the smell was oddly familiar; she just couldn't place her paw on it.

"Have an apple!" Jeannette called out to them. "They're really good!" Glancing at Julia's expectant face only briefly, Flame took a small bite from it. It wasn't soft like an oran berry, but it was crunchy and sweetly tart. Her suspicions were confirmed; she'd definitely eaten one of these before.

_But I can't seem to remember ever having been given one of these by Professor Elm, and Noah can't have given one to me, she reminded, wracking her brain. Where have I tasted this before?_

Flame passed the apple up to Julia, who gave her a mystified look after taking a bite. _Shit, am I making an odd face? _Flame wondered, trying not to look confused._ But does that mean she's also weirded-out by that apple?_

Before she could speculate further, Jeannette threw over two more apples that Flame had to scramble to catch. The girl grinned, then waved.

"Enjoy the apples! I have way too many, anyways."

"Hang on – why would you carry so many, then?" Julia called after her, relieving Flame from the apples' ridiculous weight on her claws.

"Well, I have to! Otherwise – " Jeannette suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, giving a hardly noticeable shudder, then continued to skip away. "See ya!"

"Wait! That's a valid question!" Julia protested, taking a step after her, but Jeannette was moving far too quickly, singing to herself as she did. Sighing, Flame shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Julia," she told her, "she's just a weirdo."

Julia speculated to herself for a moment, then frowned. "Too many, eh? But you're right, Flame. Thinking about Nettie'll hurt my brain."

"Oh, Julia, please tell me that you are not going to call her by that nickname!" Sir Majestic Tail trotted forwards, snorting and flicking his tail. "That girl was simply dreadful! She was like a knot in my tail!"

"How do you get a knot in fire?" Fluffy inquired, crossing her arms. "Whatever, let's just get going. I wanna see this city."

Julia stepped over to Sir Majestic Tail and was in the process of mounting him when Flame burst out, "Hey, Julia, can you pass me an apple?" Shrugging, Julia held out an apple for Flame, which she reached up and grabbed. She walked alongside Fluffy, crunching on the apple, while Sir Majestic Tail and Julia trotted a short ways ahead. Above them, the sun gleamed brightly in the pale sky like a beacon of light, igniting the fluffy clouds that floated by on fire. Although it formed a dome of warmth, Flame couldn't stop herself from shivering as a cold breeze whistled past. Summer was drawing to a close, which unnerved Flame slightly. Having been born in early July, summer was the only season she had ever known and the prospect of having to spend several months in bone-chilling cold did not appeal to her at all.

The route, lined by trees on the right side and the sea on the left, had a few dozen trainers journeying along it, mostly those who wanted to leave their Pokémon at the infamous daycare. However, some came up to challenge Julia, who used all of her Pokémon but Lanturn. By the time the four neared the large arc that marked the entrance to Goldenrod city, Flame could feel warm energy spreading through her body in an odd way.

_Don't tell me I'm close to evolving! _she panicked, trying to push away the energy._ I only just evolved recently! And what if my next evolution is hideous? Surely, Julia will end up dropping me in disgust and sending me back to Noah!_

However, the energy was hardly great enough to force her into evolution, so she tried to relax a little. Looking up at the gate as they passed below it, then to the city sprawled out in front of them, she began to find relaxing a more difficult task than she had hoped.

Goldenrod city was, put simply, big. That there might be any houses the size of those in Azalea town was completely out of the question. The smallest houses were each almost twice as tall as any house Flame had ever seen, and much taller than them were the behemoth skyscrapers. The rays of the sun reflected on their glassy surfaces, forcing her to look straight ahead instead of up. The path that they walked on now split two ways and became a sidewalk. Beyond that, cars and trucks sped by on dark asphalt, roaring as they did.

"Look at it all!" gasped Fluffy, prancing like a small child and beaming. "Electricity! Yeah! And people! It's all so beautiful!"

"I beg to differ," sighed Flame, her fur standing slightly on edge. Sure, Violet city and New Bark town had cars, too, but this was on a different scale altogether. _This isn't a big deal, _she told herself,_ just a couple of lousy cars. And they always stay on the road! There's no way that I'll get hurt! _Still, she edged closer to Sir Majestic Tail and Julia, who began to dismount him.

"My dearest trainer, I think it would do us both a world of good if you were to..." He paused to stretch out his legs and wince. "...train me further to have me evolve into a Rapidash. That way, I would be better suited to carrying you."

Julia laughed briefly, then grinned at him. "Relax, Sir. I got you just a few days ago. My journey isn't going to end after a month or something like that. I've got my whole life to become a pro!"

Sighing, Sir Majestic Tail muttered, "Well, for both of our sakes, please don't hesitate to evolve me before you become some wrinkly old grandmother."

Although Julia seemed to catch that, she only giggled at him before striding on, Flame closely following. Her temporary trainer looked like she really liked the city. Well, she couldn't be expected to be perfect.

To Julia's relief, her PokéGear began to work again now that they were in the city. She blamed it on weak signal in Ilex Forest or something else technical like that and followed the map to a Pokémon Centre. What she planned to do afterwards failed to excite Flame – a tour of the city, including the amusement park, the newly built shopping mall, an old used book store, and the Pokémon Gym. Only the latter of the options even vaguely interested her, but at least there was that. Besides, this was far better than being trapped in a Pokéball all day and all night under Noah's command.

The day dragged on and on, and by the time they had paid a visit to way too many rides at the amusement park only to carefully sit in an extremely flammable bookstore for an hour, all Flame wanted to do was sleep. How boring could this get?!

Finally, on their way to a Pokémon Centre from a restaurant in the murky darkness of twilight, something happened. Unfortunately, it was of the "Are you kidding me?!" variety.

Despite the huge crowd that now gathered in one of the busiest areas of the city, several people wearing familiar purple jumpsuits were unflinchingly causing a massive scene.

"Well? Will you fucking normal types get the message now? Or do we have to prove ourselves to you?" It was one of the grunts who yelled at the growing crowd, his pale face twisted into an expression of extreme hatefulness. Many people were crying or screaming in anguish, and children ran about wailing. At first, Flame couldn't see what all the fuss was about and she could only crane her neck around, trying to see around butts and crotches.

But when Julia slowly lifted her up to see over the heads with a blank expression painted on her face, Flame wished she could go back on the ground.

The grunt who had spoken stood by five others in Team Fury uniforms, and a girl with pink hair lay on the ground, unmoving. Her skinny body was covered in angry burns and her clothes still flamed slightly. Both of her arms were crudely torn off with the blood soaking up in her pink and white striped shirt. Her legs were a mangled mess of flesh and jutting out bones.

_No way... _Flame stared, her ears flat against her head in horror._ What the fuck is wrong with these people for them to do that to a girl?!_

Almost as if she read her mind, Julia murmured, "Oh, gods, this is...like something out of a nightmare. What kind of sick-minded bastards would do something like this?"

"Alright! Move aside! This is the police!"

A troop of men and women holding guns swarmed in, the crowd hurriedly parting for them.

"You're under arrest!" yelled one of the cops, brandishing her gun at the grunts as she charged. "Drop all of your weapons right this instant!" The Team Fury people only smirked at them and stood their ground.

"What weapons?" one of them asked, chuckling darkly. "Unlike you losers, we don't need that shit." Unexpectedly, he darted forwards, smacking the first charging police officer with his arm. Only, it wasn't an arm. It was a sword.

_Are my eyes playing tricks on me or did that guy's arm just turn into steel?!_

The arm-sword sliced at the woman and a sick crunch could be heard as her ribcage cracked. In the next instant, the top half of her body landed on the concrete.

Screams erupted like a bursting volcano. Julia dropped Flame and fell backwards as a flood of people ran past them to safety from a good distance. The massacre was far from over.

Another Team Fury grunt held her arms up to the air, sending a Signal Beam into the clouds, and a swarm of Beedrill buzzed down upon an entire row of officers.

"No! Not the Beedrills!" cried out one of them before collapsing to the ground. The Beedrills dispersed almost immediately, and a column of flames bore down on the rest of the police force. It was then that Team Fury turned their attention to the bystanders who were frozen in fear.

Flame couldn't bring herself to look away, but it was so horrible. The fire continued to rage and consume the street, sending a tall house up in flames. What a perfect background to a scene of complete insanity.

"Julia! We must get out of here at once!" cried out Sir Majestic Tail in a panicked voice and Flame couldn't help but turn to glare at him.

_You only just figured that out, shit-for-brains?_ she forced herself not to say aloud, but turned her attention to Julia. The girl lay on the ground, her eyes wide and terrified. Another scream was abruptly cut off and the full magnitude of the situation hit her like a Bulldozer.

"If you don't get up right now, we're all gonna die!" Flame yelled at her, but Julia was beyond reasoning with. She didn't respond in any way, nor did she make any effort to get the fuck out of there.

The sound of the nearing fire alerted Flame and she threw herself between Julia and the blazes, using herself as a shield. Even if her fur could withstand fire, she was hardly large enough to protect Julia for long.

"Fire-Butt! Fluffy! Get her out of here!" she tried to command, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of the fire. Just then, a boot came down in front of her before kicking her aside. Flame screeched as she tumbled through the air for the second time in the same day, but got back onto her paws right away.

_Julia – !_

"Aaaiiiiyyyaaaa!"

There was a blinding flash as the bolt was fired from the grunt to Julia, sending him flying back –

_Wait a second! That can't be right!_

And when Flame looked up again, it was indeed the grunt who lay writhing on the ground in agony several metres away. And the air around Julia crackled with electricity.

_No way! It was Julia who used that attack?!_

Flame didn't hesitate to scamper over to her, standing by her side defensively but staring at her in shock. The girl began now to try and stand, but another Team Fury grunt marched over. She differed from the other grunts, however, with a more complex skirt that was adorned with black lace and ruffles. Her eyes were darker, too, like coal. A deranged grin spread across her face and she held out a hand to Julia.

"So, you're an electric type, eh?" she hissed, licking her lips. "I'd very much like to spare you. You could be useful; very useful indeed." She drew closer to Julia's face, causing both the electrified girl and Flame to tremble in horror.

"I'll tell you only once, and I'll make myself as clear as possible." Somewhere in the distance, more screams rose up and gradually died out, as if the flames had consumed them.

"Join us, or die."

* * *

**So I've had some adverse reactions to Flame's homophobia, and I would like to add a little disclaimer: I don't hate gays. I AM a gay (well, technically, a bisexual)! Not everyone is going to be okay with them, though; especially not a Pokémon in a species that has such a low female to male ratio that it can't afford to be attracted to someone of the same gender.**

**There ya have it – I'm not an insensitive gay-hater. Just thought I'd put that out there.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hiya, friends! Welcome to Chapter 16! I don't have an awful lot to say, so I'll be brief and thank you for reading and reviewing, as always!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Oh my gosh! It's those three!"

Sunflora's exclamation put into words what everyone who had gone down to Treasure Town that day thought. Behind Skuntank flew in Zubat and Koffing, both grinning at the sea of shocked faces. As usual, however, Wigglytuff cheerfully disregarded everyone's horror and replied, "Oh, wow! Have you guys already become friends? That's wonderful!"

_Wonderful, my foot! _thought Flame, narrowing his eyes at Team Skull_. How could Wigglytuff have been fooled by these jerks?_

"So you sweet kids were from _Wigglytuff's_ Guild!" exclaimed Skuntank, smiling pleasantly. "What a coincidence! I'll be looking forward to helping you all out on the expedition!" At first, Flame was taken aback and confused at her sudden display of kindness, until he realized what she was really doing.

_What a nasty Pokémon! She's acting all kind towards us to seem like a good Pokémon to Wigglytuff and so that we look like we're the rude ones if we accuse them of acting horribly towards us!_

Unfortunately, Bidoof didn't seem to get the memo.

"What are you doing, talking to us like that all of a sudden?!" he growled, stepping towards her. "Just a few hours ago, you were a downright jerk, yup yup!"

Skuntank recoiled, pulling on a surprised face. "Why, Bidoof, what are you talking about? Why would you say something like that about me? I've done nothing to you!"

"Don't play dumb with – "

"Bidoof, why are you being so mean to our new friend?" Wigglytuff interrupted, looking confused and shaking his head at Bidoof. "I'm disappointed in you. We should all be nice to each other!" Bidoof's eyes widened, and he looked as if he wanted to protest, but he settled for turning away his head frustratedly.

"Just be happy I'm not Chatot, because he would get much more mad at you, you know." At this, Wigglytuff gave Bidoof an odd look, then wiped it from his face as he continued, "Please treat Team Skull as you would your fellow Guild members! Well, good night everyone!" Having dismissed them, Wigglytuff bounced over to Team Skull and began explaining the Guild rules to them. _As if those guys will actually follow them! _Flame thought to himself.

However, he knew not to argue with Wigglytuff. And now, there was no way that he would believe them about Team Skull being bad Pokémon. Sighing, he began to walk in the direction of his room, trying not to let his simmering annoyance show. Did Wigglytuff always have to be so clueless?

"Aren't we going to defend Bidoof?" Julia asked, walking by his side.

"What's the use?" Flame shrugged. "Trying to reason with the Guildmaster is a lost cause. Besides, if he really fell for Team Skull's lies, then he probably won't believe us at all." Seeming to reluctantly agree with that, Julia nodded and they continued on to their room. Most of the other Guild members chose to do the same thing, being that it was fairly late at night and that the entire Guild smelled like Skuntank's fumes. The crew rooms were at least a little bit more bearable.

Half an hour passed and still neither Flame nor Julia could fall asleep. They both lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Finally, Flame sighed and sat up.

"This isn't doing us any good. We need to get to sleep so that we can be well-rested for tomorrow," he pointed out.

"I know," Julia replied, also sitting up, "but I can't stop thinking about Skuntank and Koffing and Zubat. I feel like they're up to something, and I don't like it."

Flame glanced at her, and suddenly wanted nothing more than to sit beside her and talk about the next day's expedition, and maybe fall asleep like that beside her –

_Geez, what's wrong with you? _he mentally chided himself_. I don't know what's worse – wanting to do something stupid like that, or not putting in any effort towards it! Why can't Julia be the one to initiate this sort of thing?!_

Steeling himself, he asked quietly, "Um, would you mind if we slept together?" Julia blinked at him, confused.

"Sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that." Blushing furiously, Flame quickly lay down and turned away.

"Nothing," he mumbled, giving himself a mental facepalm for being such a coward.

"R-right," Julia sighed, then Flame could hear her lower herself back down. "Never mind, then." Had she wanted – ?!

_Now look what you've done, idiot! You totally lost your chance!_ Reminding himself that this might be his only chance for the next few days, he stood and walked over to her bed before dropping himself onto the straw beside her. She, unexpectedly, smiled at him and clasped his paws, curling in slightly and closing her eyes. The red that covered Flame's face began to recede and, feeling completely at peace, curled up as well and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

"HEY! You two! Get out of BED already, LOVEBIRDS!"

Flame yelped and blinked awake quickly, mortified at Loudred, who stood in their doorway. The purple Pokémon let out an earsplitting laugh and grinned at him.

"Well, if YOU DON'T want to get embarrassed, I SUGGEST you try WAKING UP before I get here! Remember, today we set out for Foggy Forest!" With that, Loudred marched away, giving Flame a smug look.

_Oh, no! He's part of my group! _remembered Flame, his face paling._ Oh, gods, he's going to make fun of me, isn't he?!_

"'Morning, Flame!" Julia greeted, then added, "You look like you had a bucket of ice water thrown at you. You okay?"

Turning his head to her, Flame laughed uneasily and replied, "No, no, I'm fine! Just a little startled, that's all!"

She nodded, smiling, then said, "Loudred's got a point. We'd better get going now if we don't want to seem like idiots, right?"

"Right," Flame nodded, standing up. He got the terrible feeling that Loudred thought that they had been doing _more_ than just sharing a bed with each other. _Could I get kicked out of the Guild for that?! _Flame panicked, mind racing. _What am I going to do?!_

"Calm down, Flame!" Julia laughed at him, walking past him into the hallway. "You look like you're going to start hyperventilating!"

"He's gonna tell everyone," Flame breathed, eyes wide. "They'll never leave us alone." He only received a smirk for his terror and Julia went on ahead of him, tail bobbing from side to side. There was something slightly unnatural in her gait, though Flame noticed it long ago, the day they met. A Pikachu, like herself, would walk on all fours; but she stood on her hind legs.

_That can't be too comfortable, _noted Flame as he carefully followed her_. Why doesn't she walk like a normal quadruped?_

However, this was not the time for him to ask her, as they were not exactly on-time for their morning briefing. The rest of the Guild gathered around Chatot, Wigglytuff, and – ugh – Team Skull. Flame received a painful reminder of their nasty stench, and he fought the urge to plug his nose.

"Now, then, if everyone is present, I will remind you of your groups," Chatot announced. "Group one is Sunflora, Julia, and Corphish; group two is Flame, Croagunk, and Loudred; group three is Bidoof, Chimecho, and Diglett; Team Skull makes up group four; and Wigglytuff and I are group five. Understood?"

The Guild members all agreed, glancing uneasily at Team Skull. There was no telling what they would do if they were their own group. Likely, they would attempt to harass other groups. Bidoof, in particular, glared steadily.

"Ooh, ooh, Chatot!" cried out Wigglytuff gleefully. "What if we all came up with team names? Wouldn't that be fun?"

Rolling his eyes, Chatot squawked back at him, "This is no time for fun! We are setting out to try and capture a dangerous criminal!"

"But Chatot, the journey's two days long! Pretty pretty please?" Wigglytuff put on an adorable face, widening his emerald eyes endearingly. Finally, Chatot sighed and gave in to the Guildmaster.

"Alright, fine. If you wish to name your groups, feel free to do so."

"Can we name our group 'Team Perfect Apples?"

"What?! No! That's just ridiculous!"

Wigglytuff huffed and turned away. "I told you you're no fun, Chatot!" In all honesty, Flame didn't understand what all that was about. Wigglytuff had to have been a powerful and respectable Pokémon to be a Guildmaster; why did he seem to not live up to his title very well?

"Enough of this!" snapped Chatot, flapping his wings in agitation. "Let's all just get moving!" At that, the Guild cheered, as they often did at the end of Chatot's announcements, then filed out of the building. Once they were outside and beginning to form their groups, Flame caught up to Julia and managed to ask her at last, "Hey, Julia, why do you walk only on your hind legs?"

Julia hardly even paused before replying, "Well, I remember that as a human, I walked on two legs. I guess that's what I'm used to."

"But you're a Pokémon now," protested Flame before lowering his voice. None of the other Guild members knew about Julia being a human before, and, so as to not complicate things and possibly lose friends, the two of them agreed to keep it a secret. "Doesn't it feel natural to walk on all fours?"

"Yeah, I guess it does," admitted Julia, "but I don't want to lose that small part of being a human. Besides, you walk on your hind paws. This way, we both do."

"This way, you're taller than me," Flame grumbled, but he couldn't help but feel warm from that statement. The very thought that she would go against her nature to be similar to him, no matter how small that part was in the full equation, caused him to smile slightly.

_If it were ever reversed, _he decided_, I'd do the same!_

"HEY! Flame! Over here!"

Loudred's ear-shattering voice boomed from where he and Croagunk had come together to set off. Slightly resignedly, Flame moved over to join them. Loudred gave him a grin as Flame uncomfortably fidgeted in front of them.

"Chatting it up AGAIN, I see?" Loudred asked with a wink. Croagunk merely chuckled a quiet "Meh-heh-heh." It was apparent that Loudred had gone ahead and told him. Not that it mattered, anyways; Croagunk probably would have figured it out over the duration of two days.

"Sure I was – she's my best friend," Flame defended, keeping his eyes closed. He felt a hand slap his back and he flinched back from Loudred.

"All right then, Flame," the deep voice laughed, "I'll give you the BENEFIT of the doubt and say that you're JUST friends."

"We are!" Flame sputtered, but his weak comeback didn't even dent Loudred's surety. If anything, he had probably just tossed another log onto the fire.

Starting to head down the Guild steps, Loudred called back, "C'mon, guys, let's see if WE can get a HEAD start!" Hoping that he wouldn't be seen as a weak little burden to his new teammates, Flame quickly followed.

* * *

At first, the route was quite flat and, aside from a few trees, was a complete grassland. That gave Sunflora and Corphish ample time to chat, and they both did a good deal of that.

"And so, I was just standing there, minding my own business, when the guy just attacked me! Eek! That's not cool at all! So I had to fight him, but then Loudred acted like a total idiot and tried to steal his wares! And, oh my gosh, was that Kadabra ever pissed! And then he just kept attacking us, 'til I had to use an Escape Orb! Ugh, aren't some vendors just the worst?"

"Yeah..." Julia agreed vaguely, grinning only at Sunflora's ability to talk at a thousand kilometres per hour and still not run out of things to talk about. Corphish was not as easily impressed.

"Hey hey! All you ever talk about is Loudred's stupidity! And we already know about it! You've gone and hammered it into us from day one, hey hey hey!" He turned his head slightly and scuttled on in a march-like fashion, trying to look sophisticated. "I prefer to talk about more interesting topics, such as conspiracies." He eyed Julia sneakily, coming in close with his gaze darting back and forth. "Legend has it that some legendary Pokémon have special, ancient forms in which they become savages! Like wild primal creatures, hey hey! I, of course, intend to get to the bottom of that mystery!"

Julia's ears perked and her eyes glimmered. "Ooh! I love a good mystery! Stuff about ancient times fascinate me!"

"Hey hey hey! Is that so? Well, before you arrived in Treasure Town, did you work on any mysteries?"

That question sure was a stumper. Now that Julia thought about it, she felt certain that something was going on, that she had tried to solve a mystery, but the memory kept darting away from her like a swift Finneon. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't remember what it was.

"I can't recall, sorry," she sighed. "I've had amnesia ever since I got here and I can't remember anything about my past." Corphish nodded, seeming to accept the inconvenient truth.

"Flame did mention that once, I think. I forgot about that. Sorry."

"Oh, it's alright!" Julia quickly told him, smiling. "I can't feel bad about what I don't remember!"

"Hey, guys, we're nearing the mountain range! Yippee!" Sunflora suddenly cut in and pointed at a group of semi-nearby mountains. The tan-coloured mountains did nothing for Julia's curiousity or to spark much enthusiasm, but they served as a reminder of how far Foggy Forest was. The nearest mountain, whose mystery dungeon was named Star Cave, was the approximate halfway point between Treasure Town and Foggy Forest, and it was already very late in the day. It was almost certain that they would go to sleep before even entering the Star Cave mountain.

_But we knew this would be a two-day trip, _Julia insisted to herself._ You can't feel bad about that if you already accepted that fact. _Still, it disturbed her to think that the thief could be stealing the Time Gear as they slept, and she found herself wishing that they could find some sort of aerial transport over the mountains instead of having to go through them. Then, she realized how much sense that made.

"Sunflora, do you have any Poké with you?" Julia asked, trying not to look too eager. Pondering for a moment, Sunflora dug through her bag until she pulled out a small sac.

"Right here, Julia. Why? Do you owe some mountain Pokémon money?"

"Uh, well..." Julia wondered how she could word it so that she didn't seem entirely out to lunch. "I was thinking...it'll take quite a while to get through all those mountains. So then I thought, 'What if we pay some flying type Pokémon to fly us over them instead?' Does that sound dumb, or..."

"Hey hey hey! That sounds like a great idea!" Corphish cut in, looking enthusiastic. Sunflora, on the other hand, didn't look quite as sure.

"What about the experience we'll get when we go through? Isn't this a bit like cheating?"

"No way, Sunflora! Not when it comes to stopping a Time Gear thief, hey hey!" Corphish defended. "But it's too late tonight to go anyways. Let's do that tomorrow, okay?"

The trio didn't have to look for long before they found a large bush with the branches parted in a way that created an open area inside which they could sleep and, after sharing one big apple, they crept in. Instantly, Julia felt the cold and she shivered as she lay down with her head on some leaves. She began to wish that she was back in her room at the Guild, where it was cozy and warm.

_Or, better yet, where I can snuggle next to Flame._ As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she very much enjoyed sleeping close beside him like that. _When we get back, maybe we should do that again. Maybe we could push our beds together..._

"Whatcha thinking about, Julia?"

Sunflora's voice caused Julia to jump a little and she realized that she had been smiling.

"Uh, nothing really. I'm thinking about Wigglytuff and Chatot's stupid day." It was a lousy lie and Sunflora saw right through it. Propping her head up with her leaf-arms, Sunflora grinned sneakily at her.

"You were thinking about Flame, weren't you?" The reddening of Julia's face was all that Sunflora needed for an answer and she giggled. "I knew it! Oh my gosh, is there something going on between you two?"

"Uh...um..." Julia thought desperately about what she could say to defend herself before relaxing and saying, "Well, to tell you the truth, not really. I mean, last night, we slept in the same bed, but that's really it."

"I already knew _that_, Julia," Sunflora told her simply. "Loudred told me he saw you guys." _You've gotta be kidding me! He _told_ everyone?!_

Seeing the shocked expression on Julia's face, Sunflora quickly amended, "Eek! Don't worry, he only told me!"

"I know now anyways," Corphish called out from somewhere behind the leaves, "but that's only because you two were talking so loud, hey hey!"

Julia sighed, leaning back. "Well, that's a relief. I was worried he told everyone."

"Don't you worry, Julia," Sunflora smiled, "that sort of thing isn't awfully uncommon, anyways. Let's just get some rest now so that we can do some bird hitchhiking tomorrow!"

Grinning at the thought, Julia closed her eyes and slowly dropped off to sleep.

The morning was fairly uneventful, with them all sharing another apple before setting off again. They had crossed half the distance to the mountain, which now looked a good deal more massive and sinister, when they spotted a flock of Fearows flying overhead. After a bit of hopping and waving their arms around, the Fearows flew down and, after hearing about their situation, agreed to take them over the mountain range for 100 Poké per person.

Being that that was a cheap and affordable rate for Sunflora, who really did have a good deal of money with her, they handed over the money and set off right away. For them, the journey over the mountains took little over three hours, with the Fearows stopping a couple times on ledges for rests.

For Flame's group, things didn't go quite as swimmingly.

After a painful overnight rest in a tree, Loudred jarringly woke up Flame and Croagunk and they had to wander through the entirety of Star Cave. Flame's worn old bag finally snapped and he had to transfer all of his items, including the relic fragment that he foolishly brought along, into Loudred's bag, all while being scolded in a booming voice for not having taken the treasure bag he was given upon signing up at the Guild.

The rest of the journey to Foggy Forest was absolute hell. Loudred, true to Sunflora's accusations, was constantly rushing into monster houses – areas baited with gummis and items where a swarm of Pokémon would suddenly gather and attack all at once. As a result, Loudred fainted more than once, forcing Flame and the surprisingly powerful Croagunk to fight the Pokémon on their own while defending their fallen teammate.

On their way, they constantly ran into paths that led to nowhere, wasting them precious minutes. Loudred had expressed wanting to beat Sunflora's group to Foggy Forest, but this seemed to be out of the question.

Then, once they reached the tallest mountain in the range, Mount Horn, they spent hours just trying to find a way through. Flame was getting tired, anxious, and claustrophobic in the tunnels, and still they'd discovered nothing. At this point, he was slowly becoming worried that they would never make it out at all.

And if that happened, Chatot would be very upset with them.

* * *

"Thank you guys so much!" Sunflora called out after the Fearows as they flew away into the mist. The three stood in a clearing in a forested area, where the light was dim and fog lay over the ground like a thick blanket. Corphish began to look around, scuttling from tree to tree suspiciously while Sunflora grinned proudly.

"We're the first ones here!" she giggled. "Yippee! We beat that lousy Loudred!"

"Actually, that is incorrect, my young Sunflora!"

Julia and Sunflora turned their heads and gaped. A dozen metres away stood Chatot, holding out his chest proudly, while Wigglytuff danced around, trying to balance three stacked perfect apples upon his head and laughing.

"But – but that can't be – ! I mean, we got here on Fearows – !" Julia could do nothing but stutter before she finally silenced herself and trying again, more slowly this time. "We flew over the mountains instead of going all the way through. How did you guys get here first?!"

Striding over gloatingly, Chatot replied, "You ought to know by now that Wigglytuff is the greatest explorer on the continent. Well, I may be only second best, but a force as formidable as ours would only be expected to traverse the range at the quickest speed there is."

"I rode a Pelipper over the plains while Chatot flew," Wigglytuff corrected, not giving them so much as a sideways glance as he bounced around.

Looking slightly ruffled, Chatot shook his head and continued, "Yes, well, that's hardly noteworthy. The Pelippers were going in this direction to see if they could also stop the thief, anyways."

_There was more than one Pelipper? _Julia wondered._ Could they have been the same two that took Flame and I to Mount Bristle?_

"Also...I must commend you three for finding an alternate way to cross the mountains." Chatot gave them a genuine smile, losing his cocky attitude and nodding to them. "Although I would have liked for you to have gained the experience from traversing the mountains, particularly Mount Horn, from the inside, a faster way, in this case, was the smarter thing to do. Now, then – " He gave them a businesslike look once again and they snapped to attention. " – because you are early, you should try finding a way to clear the fog before the others arrive. Doing that would speed up our progress in stopping the Time Gear thief significantly."

"And if you find any perfect apples, bring them to me and I might share with you!" called out Wigglytuff from where he sat, the three apples dropped in the grass around him and an incessant beam on his face.

"You glutton," scolded Chatot, and Wigglytuff crossed his arms and looked away, still grinning. Shrugging at Julia, Sunflora turned and led the way into the woods.

It wasn't soon after they had walked in that Julia stopped, frowning. Corphish, who walked beside her, noticed she had stalled and asked, "Hey hey hey! Julia, what's wrong?"

_It's odd, but this forest...seems awfully familiar. It feels like I've been here before...but how can I have been? _Nothing about feeling that way made sense – she was certain that she couldn't have been here before, and even if she had, for what reason?_ It simply isn't possible...or is it?_

"Um, Corphish," Julia began as she started walking again, "you seem to know a lot about this sort of thing, so...would you know if there was ever a human in Foggy Forest?"

Thinking it over for a bit, Corphish responded, "Well, I don't see how. Humans, as you might know, are incredibly rare. It's likely that none ever even set foot on the entire region, or ever will, for that matter." Disappointed but unsurprised, Julia nodded...then promptly tripped and fell flat on her nose.

"Oh my gosh, Julia! Are you okay?" Sunflora gasped, scurrying over. Julia pushed herself up with her paws, wiping the dirt and grass off her face, then glanced back to see what she tripped over. It was a stone of sorts, with a reddish tinge. She turned and picked it up curiously, only to instantly drop it onto Corphish's head.

"Hey hey hey! What's the big deal?!" he complained, rubbing his head with his claws.

"I'm sorry, Corphish!" Julia apologized. "But the stone – it's warm!" Sunflora strode over and picked it up, her face notably changing when she touched it, then turned it over in her leaf-hands.

"Wowee, Julia, you're right!" she exclaimed, handing it off to Corphish to inspect. "What a great find! I'll bet it's really rare!"

"Hey hey hey! You've got that right!" Corphish agreed, staring at it in wonder. "I know what this is – it's a drought stone, and that's not the same as a drought orb, make no mistake. While a drought orb can dry up some puddles in a dungeon floor for a few hours, this thing could dry up this entire forest for years, maybe even indefinitely! That is a great find, hey hey!"

"So what you're saying is that this random rock is the key to getting rid of the fog here?" Julia asked, frowning. "Funny how it was just lying around here for who knows how long and I just so happened to trip on it."

That was a good point, and it silenced all three of them for a minute while they thought that over. _This place is just getting weirder and weirder, _Julia thought._ Next, we'll find a Time Gear or something!_

"Well, let's not worry about it for now," Sunflora said uneasily, though her face practically screamed, 'Eek! It's a trap!' "We'll take it with us, I guess. Corphish, do you know how to activate it?"

"That I don't know," admitted Corphish. "Maybe it has to be put somewhere to work, hey hey?"

Though not as energetically as before, the group set off again through the forest.

* * *

"Stupid tent... Wigglytuff, lend me a paw here, would you?"

Chatot struggled with one of the ropes that held up a Wigglytuff-shaped tent, the rope constantly slipping from his clenched beak. Pausing his activity of arranging and rearranging his three perfect apples by colour, size, and a handful of other factors, Wigglytuff hopped to his paws and skipped over, grabbing the rope and pulling so hard that both the pegs that supported the tent on its other side pulled right out. Before Chatot could panickedly scramble away from the heavy fabric, it fell on top of him and Wigglytuff, turning his world black. After a moment, Wigglytuff started giggling, flopping onto his side.

"Now is not the time to be fooling around, you ninny!" Chatot exclaimed, exasperated. "Would you please help get this tent off of me?"

"How was I supposed to know that the tent would just fall like that?" laughed Wigglytuff, still making no move to help out. "You must be very bad at setting up tents!"

Groaning, Chatot defended, "You know that I lack the physical strength to do such a thing very well. It would be much easier for me if someone would help out instead of just playing around with perfect apples!"

"Oh, no!" Wigglytuff gasped in shock. "Who would do such a horrible thing?! I'll go find them and force them to come help you!" With that, he wiggled out from under the tarp and bounced away, leaving Chatot alone in the dark.

"Hey! Don't just leave me here!" wailed Chatot, struggling to free himself. Faintly, he could hear Wigglytuff talking to someone, then Skuntank's voice responding coolly. From under the tent, he couldn't even smell her fumes. Why was Wigglytuff talking to Team Skull alone like that? They probably couldn't even tell that he was under there.

After a few minutes, Wigglytuff lifted a large flap of the tent and Chatot didn't hesitate to hop out from under it, taking in a deep breath.

"You'll be fine to put up the tent on your own, right?" Wigglytuff asked cheerfully. Without even giving Chatot ample time to respond to such an unexpected question, he went on, "Great! I need to go do something, so do what you can before I come back. Get the other groups that arrive here to help you out if they come back before I do. Bye-a!" And, grabbing a perfect apple, Wigglytuff skipped away.

Chatot stared, stunned, before furiously yelling, "What are you talking about?! Get back here, Wigglytuff!" But it was no use; Wigglytuff had vanished in the mist. The bird Pokémon sagged, then turned to look at the tent, whose supporting poles had now toppled as well. He sighed.

_Why must the Guildmaster keep doing this? _he wondered then, resignedly, hopped over to the tent and got to work on it_. What was so important that he needed to rush off like that, anyways?_

* * *

The pines loomed overhead, their height concealed by the thick fog. As they continued on, the forest only grew darker and the fog thicker so that Julia could hardly even see her own tail – not that she looked back at it, anyways. She followed as closely behind Sunflora as she could, terrified of losing her in the milky mist. Her imagination began to play tricks on her and she could swear that a Banette or a Gengar watched her from behind every black trunk.

"Eek!"

Sunflora's sudden comment caused Julia to shriek and fall on her back in shock. Hearing Corphish's snickering, she righted herself quickly, putting a paw over her pounding heart.

"Sorry, that just spooked me," she apologized, blushing. Shaking her head at her, Sunflora pointed ahead. In front of them towered a thick, gnarled old tree with long, mostly bare branches. They had passed a few of these before, but they still freaked Julia right out.

"It's not that big of a deal," Sunflora admitted, also blushing, "but I just thought it moved, so I panicked." _Thought it moved?_ Julia shuddered at that thought, then followed Sunflora around it, glaring at the tree suspiciously. They kept walking, but Julia began to feel as if something was wrong.

"Um, Sunflora?" she asked, fidgeting.

"Yes?"

"Um, never mind."

Then, Sunflora stopped walking.

"Where's Corphish?"

Julia blinked at her, then whipped her head around. Corphish was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, shit," hissed Julia, her eyes becoming wide. "Corphish? Corphish?! Are you there?!" She began to run back, but Sunflora caught her forked tail.

"Hold on, there! You can't just go running off like that!" Sunflora gazed at the Pikachu with concern in her eyes. "He often wanders off on missions, so don't worry about him. He'll find his way back to us soon enough!"

Still, that was hardly enough to comfort Julia, and she kept looking from side to side as they continued, holding her own tail to her chest. Through the fog, she could see another of those creepy trees, and it gave her a horrible feeling of being watched.

Suddenly, it moved.

"Uh, Sunflora?" Julia asked, staring at it in terror. When she got no response, she called out, louder, "Sunflora? Sunflora! Where did you go?!"

_This can't be happening. Sunflora's gone now, too?!_

The tree slowly advanced on her on many root-like legs. The sound of snapping branches alerted Julia and she spun around to see another tree creeping towards her. Then behind it came two more, slowly emerging from the mist.

"No fucking way..." Julia mumbled, then scrambled away on all fours, running down the path as quickly as she could. Something else loomed above her in her way, and she skidded to a halt as a fifth tree crawled slowly in her direction.

Panic surged through her like a wave and she desperately ran in the other direction, trying to find a gap in the advancing trees. However, they closed in on her from all sides, a glowing red eye on each leering at her.

"Hah...hah..." She collapsed to the ground, her paws unable to hold her anymore, trembling in terror. And still, they continued to close in, branch-like arms reaching for her...

"AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE!"


	17. Chapter 17

**I realized that I use the word 'shocked' too much in my writing. Kind of ironic, isn't it? This chapter's a bit shorter than usual, but the next one'll be longer to make up for it. As usual, please review if you liked – or even better, hated – the chapter, since those help me improve.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The numbness that had spread over Julia's mind began to slowly fade away as she stared death in the face. That awful sneer on the Team Fury woman's face spread when she recognized Julia's indecision.

"Oh, I will stand here all night if I must," she assured Julia, chuckling mildly. "I'll wait for you to make your choice. Of course, it's a fairly obvious one, isn't it?"

Join them or die. Of course it was obvious what Julia would pick.

She raised her head to look the woman full in the face, then spat at her. The blob of saliva hit the woman on the bridge of her nose and slowly slid down her cheek. The psychotic eyes narrowed and she drew back, scowling.

"Apparently, it's not quite obvious enough," she mused, and she held up a hand. Each fingertip burst into flames and glowed like candles on a menorah. "Why don't I just tell you what to choose? You choose life, kid. Got that?"

Julia looked at her as evenly as she could then spoke, "Fuck you." However, her voice cracked on the second word and her sheer terror was revealed to the Team Fury woman. Laughing, the woman formed a fire-ball in her ignited hand and fired it at Julia.

The pain of its impact was immediately surpassed by the sudden feeling of her skin being torn apart and seared. She couldn't even scream; all Julia could do was roll onto her side and shudder as the fire tore at her clothes. Vaguely, she could make out Flame crying out to her and grabbing her hand with her claws, but she was quickly fading.

_How ironic, _she thought bitterly, the pain seeming to ebb away and her head pounding rhythmically like a drum_, that I should die by one of my favourite types..._

Suddenly, it was as if she was enveloped in an icy wind, except that she was completely drenched in cool water. Her mind snapped back to reality and she blinked furiously, struggling to sit up. Screaming filled her ears, but it wasn't her own. When she looked up, she saw, to her shock, that the Team Fury woman was falling back, her arms feebly shielding her body as a steady stream of water pushed her back.

And the source of the water was none other than the Lanturn given to Julia by Jeannette, who was being held under Flame's arm.

"Flame, did you – ?" Julia began, but abruptly realized that while she had been mostly spared, her clothes hadn't. All that covered her were her mostly burnt shorts and the upper half of her shirt.

"Just hang on, Julia!" Flame called out, aiming Lanturn at another Team Fury grunt that ran at them. Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail, on the other two sides of Julia, were blasting out attack after attack. And beyond their little circle, Julia could see other Pokémon of varying sizes and types also attacking back and defending their trainers.

The raging fire eventually died down as more water type Pokémon attacked it, and the Team Fury members scattered, retreating from the scene of the crime. Before long, it was all over.

Flame breathed hard, Lanturn dropping from her grip and onto the pavement.

"Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed to him, quickly picking up his Pokéball from where it lay discarded a few decimetres away and telling him, "Thank you so much, Lanturn. I mean it," before returning him to the ball. That was when she dropped the Pokéball and dashed to Julia, collapsing against her in a tight hug.

"You – you idiot, Julia!" she wailed, her face pressed against Julia's cheek. "You almost died, you – !" Then she broke into uncontrollable tears. Julia stared at her, shocked at the violent response, then everything that had just happened sank in.

_Dozens – no, much more than dozens – of people were killed, I nearly burned to death, and I'm mostly naked._

Her arms moved of their own accord, embracing Flame tightly, and she cried like she had never cried before. Her throat became raw and yet tears kept coming. In her grip, Flame squirmed about, but Julia hardly noticed.

"Julia, perhaps it is time that we left?"

She heard Sir Majestic Tail walk over to her side, lowering his head to touch her head. "Come on, you ought to leave as soon as possible. After all, you're still quite...indecent."

His urges didn't get through to Julia, who continued to bawl and stare out at the bodies with watery eyes. At this point, Flame simply lay limp in her grip, unable to free herself. After a few more minutes, Fluffy finally walked around to face Julia with her paws on her hips.

"Listen, Julia," she said firmly, her eyes like steel, "shit happens. So does death. I've seen countless Pokémon die, and you even saw Flame kill a Sentret. It's bound to happen sooner or later, right? So stop wailing about it and pull yourself together!"

Julia tried to hold in her sobs, but she couldn't pull the images of murder from her mind. Her body continued to shudder of its own accord and she began to feel sick. Glaring at her, Fluffy tried again.

"Yeah, you've seen Pokémon die, haven't you? Oh – or is it different this time because they're humans? Who cares if a Pokémon dies? They're nothing to you, aren't they? If one of us died, for how long would you cry then, huh? Would you care at all? Oh, but if a bunch of humans you've never met before die, it's a tragedy! 'Cause you're all so much better than us, huh?!" She spat out those last words at her and Julia flinched, staring back at her.

"I...I don't...it's not like..." she managed, a heavy lump forming in her throat. It became too difficult to speak or even cry anymore. All she could do was shake and choke out dry sobs.

Suddenly, Sir Majestic Tail came forward and snorted embers at Fluffy; not powerful enough to hurt her badly, but enough to startle her out of her fury.

"How could you be so ignorant, cream-puff? If this number of Pokémon were slaughtered right in front of her, it would cause just as much grief! And to yell at her in such a way is uncalled for! She is still in shock and you have the tactlessness to be so cruel!" But even as he said it, his eyes wavered and he didn't sound fully confident in what he said. His head lowered, then he stepped between Fluffy and Julia.

"Come on, Julia, it is about high time for us to leave," he told her softly. Reluctantly, Julia pushed herself off the ground and stood beside him, suddenly aware that she only had scraps of her clothes covering her. She turned and, setting Flame down at last, picked up her scorched bag and the Lanturn's PokéBall from the street and clutched them to her chest before walking alongside her Ponyta. Fluffy, despite still simmering in frustration, walked closely behind Julia to cover her back slightly. Behind them, more fires burst up as Team Fury ran through the streets, but Julia tried to ignore it and forced herself not to look back. It didn't feel real, like it actually happened. Everything felt like a messed-up dream.

Flame, who stayed on Julia's unguarded side, reached out a paw and touched Julia's hand lightly. Despite wanting desperately to squeeze Flame's paw back, Julia pulled her hand away. _I don't want to be comforted, _Julia thought, closing her eyes._ I just want to go back in time and stop this from happening._

Amidst the confusion and panic that still consumed the citizens of Goldenrod, a lone, mostly naked girl guarded by three Pokémon was hardly a spectacle and she managed to make it relatively unnoticed to the nearest Pokémon Centre. She stood, empty-eyed, covering her chest with her bag in the doorway for a solid minute before a nurse came over to ask her if she wanted a room. The nurse didn't need Julia to explain; the look on her face, her red skin, and a TV in the corner of the room blaring the raw footage of the genocide from the view of a helicopter said it all.

At some point, Julia stopped comprehending what was going on around her and simply let herself be led into a room and placed into a bed. Eventually, the line between consciousness and unconsciousness defined itself more and she fell asleep.

* * *

_Where is he? I know that he should be nearby..._

Mist swirled around Julia's face as she wove around tall, dark trees. It was a new location, a place that she had not yet visited in her dreams, and the thoughts in her mind, usually consumed by a need to find the odd glow of each place, now was pushed aside by a second, more pressing urge. Somebody was lost in these woods. Somebody that she cared for very much. And she couldn't find him anywhere.

_Come on, you've gotta be somewhere around here. You said that we'd be together...!_

Suddenly, she noticed something faintly glowing by one of the massive trunks and made her way over to it. It was unlike the other things, but this was something also of great importance. She lifted it in her hands, and she felt warmth radiating from it.

_"So this is it, huh? The drought stone..." Supposedly, it can get rid of all this fog, but I first need to place it –_

A distant roar cut off her thoughts and she looked up; in vain, of course. Though she saw nothing through the fog, she knew what it was that had roared. And she would be ready for it when she returned.

* * *

"So, the nurse lady brought these in for you..."

Flame carried to Julia, who had only just awoken, a now-crumpled shirt stacked on a pair of shorts. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Julia took the clothes from Flame, pulled away the remnants of her own clothes, and began to put the new ones on. The shirt was fairly baggy though the shorts were a bit tight. The shoes she had worn the night before were gone, likely taken away by one of the staff at the Pokémon Centre due to being too burnt to keep, and she had a pair of sneakers waiting for her.

After putting everything on, she noticed that all three of her Pokémon were silent and subdued for some reason.

"Uh, guys, what is it?" she asked, stretching to try to cover up her awkward feeling. Flame finally answered for them.

"Are you doing okay, Julia?" Her eyes were wide, and she looked concerned. "Last night, you seemed really shaken up from...y'know... So do you feel better now?"

It took Julia a while to respond. She hadn't thought much about the events of last night yet, but now that it was back in her mind, it still didn't feel real and what she felt then was absent now.

"No, I'm fine now," she replied at last, smiling at Flame. "So these clothes...they're just lending them to me, right? I'd better go buy something for myself. Wanna come with me?"

Flame seemed taken aback by the question and the fact that Julia didn't seem sad at all, but nodded. "Yeah, sure. What about those two, though?" She pointed a paw back at Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy, who both looked nonchalant.

"Oh, don't worry your head about us," Sir Majestic Tail scoffed, puffing out his chest proudly. "We could go on our own adventure through town, couldn't we, Fluffy?"

"The day after a fucking genocide?!" she asked incredulously. "Yeah, sure, I guess."

Grinning, Julia dug through the remains of her bag and, upon finding both her PokéGear and her wallet, stood again and shoved both into her pockets. "In that case, can we meet up at the Pokémon Centre entrance at noon?"

When she received a pair of nodding heads, she opened the door to leave the room and let her Pokémon out. They left the Centre and they stood outside for a moment just to look at the damage of the previous night.

A great number of police cars were parked inside a taped-off area about one hundred metres away that stretched over two four-lane roads. Beyond that were overturned vehicles, red streets, a morgue crew, and still-smouldering buildings. In the distance, a fire climbed up a tower while jets of water were shot at it from every angle.

_Am I a bad person for not feeling anything? _Julia wondered, paling._ I just can't believe..._

"Should we go now?" Flame asked, tugging at Julia's shirt. Julia nodded down at her, and realized for the first time how tall the Quilava was on her when standing up straight on her hind legs. Flame was longer than her legs. _Kinda bizarre to think that she used to be a tiny little Cyndaquil, huh?_

Sir Majestic Tail trotted off with Fluffy bouncing along in tow, and Julia turned and led Flame through the streets. After a few minutes of walking, Flame finally asked, "Last night, when that grunt attacked you, I saw an electric attack hit him. That was you, wasn't it?"

Julia scratched her arm, frowning. Had she used an attack? What had happened last night, anyways?

"I can't remember," she admitted, laughing uneasily. "Was it?" Flame stared at her before groaning.

"You should know that sort of thing, Julia!"

"I just can't remember it. Can you give me some hints about last night?"

Sighing, Flame began, "So, that girl was killed, with the crowd of people, then the police came in, then the guys started attacking, then there was the fire, then a grunt ran at you..." Julia had been muttering "uh-huhs" and "oh, rights," and when Flame trailed off, she remembered what happened.

_I'd been lying there when I saw the guy coming at me, so I just reacted. I didn't realize I'd used an attack, though..._

"Yeah, then that _was_ me," she murmured. "Then does that mean that I'm an electric type?" Perhaps due to the much more massive event that had occurred last night, the fact that Julia was the electric type didn't phase her much. Or maybe she had suspected that her family was that type when she was younger. After all, the electricity often shorted out for no reason at her house.

"Seems like it. Fluffy'll be pleased, at the very least." Flame smiled, then turned to Julia, eyes sparkling. "Hey, can you try using an electric type attack again? I don't care if you hit me or anything; it was just really cool!"

"I can try..." Julia concentrated, trying to feel like she did last night, but she felt nothing. In fact, she didn't even know how she did it the last time. "Sorry, Flame. I don't really know how to." Briefly, Flame looked disappointed, then she sighed again.

"So, will many people learn about this...this murder spree?"

"Yeah, thanks to the technology we have, people all over the world can learn about something, even if it happened only a few hours previous." But as soon as she said it, something began to nag at her. She felt as if she was forgetting something very important, but what?

"Heh, well that makes sense, then," Flame nodded. "That box thing you have – the PokéGear – it started making noises last night. I wanted to answer whoever was calling, but I couldn't get it out of the bag."

"Shit! My mom!"

Instantly, Julia whipped out the PokéGear and opened it up. There were six missed calls: one from Jordan, one from Leo, and four from her mother. Panicking, she tapped the button to call her mom. There were two rings, then a terrified voice cried out, "Julia?! Where's my Julia?!"

"Mom, mom, it's me! I'm here!" Julia told her quickly, sighing in relief. "I'm fine. I wasn't hurt at all." Actually, now that she looked at herself, she could beg to differ on her own statement. Her arms and legs were raw and blotchy red from being burned. When she lightly poked her arm, she winced from the bite of pain.

"Oh, thank Arceus!" her mother exclaimed, exhaling deeply. "I saw on the news last night that some extremists had wreaked havoc in Goldenrod, and I thought you might have ended up there by now, so I wanted to call you to make sure you were alright."

_Typical mom, _Julia thought with a smile. Flame looked up at the PokéGear curiously, and Julia remembered that Flame didn't know who her mother was. Sitting down at a nearby bench, Julia pressed the camera button on the PokéGear and her mother's face appeared on the screen.

"Well, you don't look too bad," her mother commented, nodding as she observed her. "You'll just need to get your hair trimmed a tad. Oh, and what's that shirt you've got on?"

The second part of what her mother said was lost on her and a hand flew to her hair, feeling the ends. It was a good deal shorter on one side, burned off to no longer cover the back of her neck fully. _There go my Pignite-tails_, she realized sadly.

Paws touched her shoulder and Julia glanced over to see Flame leaning on her shoulder to get a good look at the PokéGear.

"And who's this?" her mother asked, her blue eyes lighting up in interest.

"My name is Flame," Flame introduced, cocking her head sideways. "Are you Julia's mom?"

"That's right. Aw, you're so cute!"

Flame blushed at the praise, smirking at Julia, who decided to change the subject before she had to explain how she obtained her.

"So, mom, how are you doing? Are you surviving Jordan being a prick?"

"Oh, don't be like that, dear," her mom chuckled, shaking her head. "He's quite alright, but he was also worried about you. McMister was so concerned that he sat outside all night, doing absolutely nothing." In other words, McMister was as dull as ever.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know I'm fine," Julia concluded, beginning to stand again, "and Flame and I are about to go clothes shopping." It was then that she realized with a start that the beautiful blue fabric Flame had given her had burned off. Now her wrist felt naked.

Her mother nodded, brushing away a strand of her orange hair. "I certainly won't hold you back," she said, "so I'll let you go. One more thing, though. You went through Ilex Forest...yesterday, was it?"

The hairs on Julia's arms rose and she began to feel uneasy at the odd way her mother had said that, but she tried not to show it and replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, sure. A bit of a maze, isn't it? Have you ever gone there?"

"Something...odd...happened there, you know?" her mother said, now very serious. "There have been news reports of it being almost impossible to travel through, and it's been confirmed this morning that most of the Pokémon in it are very hostile towards humans and tame Pokémon."

_So it wasn't just us. It actually is dangerous for humans there!_

"I didn't hear too much about it, but I'd advise you not to go back through. Are you okay with that?"

"I – I'm fine. Why would I want to go there if it's that dangerous?" Julia laughed uneasily. Glancing at Flame, she noticed that while she looked curious at that piece of news, she didn't appear to feel as troubled as Julia. "Well, I'll catch you later, mom. Tell Jordan I said hi, 'kay?"

"Alright, hon. Take care!" The line went dead and Julia pocketed the PokéGear, shaking off her misgivings. After all, she was about to go shopping. Why should she let a little issue that was done and over with bother her?

"Shall we go, Flame?" Julia asked, standing up. Flame frowned at her, looking as though she wanted to say something about the call, but she nodded instead, hopping off the bench and following her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Enjoy this freakishly long chapter! Holy crap, if the Fogbound Lake expedition is taking so long for me to write, I'm going to hate the Time Gear part. Oh, well, that will come later. As usual, please leave a review if you liked the chapter or thought it was the worst thing ever typed out so I can work on making it better.**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Well, well, well. Why am I not surprised?"

The trees halted in their approach on Julia at the sound of the cool voice. Julia turned her head, trembling, to see who had spoken, then caught scent of a filthy odour.

"Looks like the wimp got spooked by a couple of spoopy, spary Trevenants," the voice continued mockingly, then one of the tree Pokémon screeched in pain as a claw sliced at its trunk. The others all turned to look at the new threat, who now felled the Trevenant it had attacked, and Julia could see who it was.

"Skuntank?! What are you doing here?"

Skuntank smiled coldly, then leapt at another Trevenant, claws flailing to rip at the bark. Zubat and Koffing, who had come with her, also began flying down and attacking. Realizing that these trees were actually Pokémon that she could also fight against, Julia charged electricity and shot a Thunderbolt from her body at the nearest Trevenant, sending it stumbling sideways into one of the others. A Razor Leaf attack came at her and she was thrown back by dozens of tiny, razor-sharp leaves, but retaliated quickly with another Thunderbolt. The idea of a new attack came to her and she closed her eyes tightly to focus herself before blasting electricity in all directions, striking all the Trevenants at once in a single electric Discharge. Luckily, it didn't look like she had hit Skuntank or her teammates in the process.

_If I'd hurt them, too, _she thought, shuddering,_ they'd flay my skin and wear it as a cloak!_

With all the Trevenants down, Skuntank refocussed her attention to Julia and she stepped forwards, grinning.

"See? Now, that wasn't too difficult, was it?" Chuckling, she added, "Did you not think for even a moment that it was possible to fight back against them? Or were you too preoccupied with clenching your legs together to stop yourself from pissing yourself?" That seemed to be funny enough to cause Zubat and Koffing to laugh hysterically, but Julia only narrowed her eyes and took a step back from them, her pulse racing.

_I've gotta get away from them! But they've got me outnumbered three to one..._

"Julia! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" The sound of Sunflora's voice approaching from up the path sent relief flooding through Julia, and she ran to her teammate to hug her.

"Where'd you get off to, silly?" Sunflora giggled at her, patting her on the head. "You must have fallen behind, huh? Good thing you were screaming like that, or I might have never found you!" Then, she seemed to realize at last that they were in the presence of Team Skull and she pulled away, folding her arms. "What are you three doing here?"

"Do you always assume the worst of us?" Skuntank inquired, her tail-tip twitching slightly. "We came to help the Pikachu out. Is there anything wrong with that?" Sunflora glanced at Julia, who nodded affirmatively, but she still looked skeptical.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, okay?" she told them slowly. "But try to do anything funny..."

"Of course not!" Zubat laughed, flying down to flap his wings in their faces.

"You can trust us!" Koffing added in an unconvincing tone. Sighing, Sunflora waved an arm and continued walking.

"Well, if that's the way it's gonna be, follow me," she called back. Julia quickly sprinted up to her side, uneasy with the prospect of having to have Team Skull trail along behind them. Eventually, Corphish did, indeed, meet up with them again, running out from the trees with his bag bulging and a broad grin on his face.

"Hey hey hey! Take a look at all the goodies I've found!" he exclaimed, holding out his bag with a claw. Julia peered in and saw tons of golden Poké glimmering inside. It never ceased to amaze her that money could be randomly found in even rarely-explored mystery dungeons, but she was far from complaining.

"Tell us next time you want to run off on your own!" Sunflora scolded, putting her leaf-hands on her hips. "What if you'd gotten attacked by Trevenants? What would you do then?"

"There are Trevenants here, too, now?" Corphish looked concerned and he frowned at the trees suspiciously. "Those creepy things seem to be popping up in every mystery dungeon with trees, hey hey! I wonder why? I'll have to look into that and do some research, hey hey!"

"You really are something!" Though she still looked stern, Sunflora couldn't help but smile slightly at Corphish's ridiculousness. "Come on, we want to be the first group – er, groups – to clear the forest of fog, don't we?"

They continued down the path, Julia staying closer to Sunflora and Corphish than before; partially out of fear of getting separated, and partially because Team Skull being in such close proximity to them concerned her. The fog remained high and thick, but after a while the forest abruptly stopped and gave way to an open area that echoed with the roaring of waterfalls. In the thick soup of fog, all Julia could see were two waterfalls crashing down with great force to the ground from – as it seemed – the very sky. It was impossible to tell where their source was.

"Yippee! We finally made it out of there!" Sunflora giggled, dancing about cheerfully. "Let's take a short break so that our heads will be nice and focussed. We still need to find a way to clear the fog, after all." Julia found it curious that Sunflora failed to mention the drought stone they had found earlier. That likely meant that she didn't want Skuntank, Zubat, and Koffing to know about it.

_Seems like she really doesn't trust them, either. I can't blame her, though. They always look like they're up to something._

The world was like a bleached rock as they sat around in a circle to eat their lunch of apples and oran berries. Admittedly, it was monotonous to eat the same fruits constantly, but Chimecho had come along on the expedition and she could make everyone dinner when they returned to base camp.

After she had finished eating, Julia inconspicuously took the still-warm drought stone from Sunflora's bag and began to wander around, searching for something out of the ordinary that might serve as a clue to how to get rid of the fog. Corphish had said that there might be a special spoy where it could be placed to activate it... But where was that?

_Ugh, I really can't see anything through this fog! Julia thought in frustration. Maybe I can light up the area a bit with a Discharge? _She tried using the attack again, but now she couldn't figure out how she had done it before. Sighing heavily, she sat back against a flat-sided rock and tried to think. If she couldn't see anything, how on earth could she find a way to clear the fog? And even if she could find someplace for the drought stone, how would she even go about activating it? She would need to get very lucky if she wanted to do this.

Dizziness swarmed over her and she groaned, holding her head_. I really needed to take more breaks, _she told herself_, or I'll pass out like a little weakling..._

The dizziness became stronger and she slumped forwards, unconscious before her head even hit the ground. A blinding light pierced her mind and a voice echoed through her mind.

"See? There's the Groudon statue! Just put the drought stone in Groudon's heart, and..." The voice trailed off, fading into nothingness, and Julia was jerked awake again.

_That voice...I didn't even get a clear feeling of what it even sounded like. _She sat back against the rock again, frowning_. Was it one of my visions again? But I didn't touch anything..._

The idea to turn around and look at what she was leaning against suddenly occurred to her. Slowly, she looked back and up.

It wasn't a rock. Well, not exactly.

It was a half-sunken statue of a heavily armoured Pokémon that was at least three metres tall. She had been sitting against its square-cut base.

"Yeek!" She couldn't help but let out a squeak of surprise, and she whipped her head back and and forth to see if anyone heard her.

_Don't be ridiculous! _Julia chided herself._ What's so bad about my teammates hearing me? It's not like I'm going to break this statue or anything_. Still, a shiver ran up her spine and she felt uneasy. She could practically feel someone breathing down her neck, though there was, of course, nobody there when she looked back.

_What did that voice in my vision say? Something about putting this drought stone into Groudon's heart? Is this the statue of Groudon, then?_

Scrutinizing the statue's surface, Julia spotted a place on the stone beast's chest that looked like a chunk had been taken out of it._ That's gotta be it! It looks like the drought stone will fit quite nicely in that hole! Question is...how will I get it up there?!_

The spot was probably two and a half metres up. There was the option of climbing, but, even for such an old statue, she felt like it was too sacred to do so. She turned the drought stone over in her paws, eyeing the spot, then approached the statue. Due to the entire thing being slightly sunken into the ground, the base was on an angle and she had to brace herself against the Groudon statue's body. From that point, when she raised herself to her full extent, she could reach up about halfway to the hole. Frustrated, she sat back on her haunches, wondering how to go about doing this.

_What if I back up and jump at it? I'd have to be very precise with my jump._ She hopped off the base and readied herself to jump at it. The first time she leapt, she undershot and her head collided with the statue's stomach. Rubbing her head and wincing, she tried again. This time, when she jumped, it was right at the hole but the drought stone slipped between her paws and clattered to the ground. Chiding herself for being so butter-fingered but refusing to go back and ask for help, she tried the jump again and managed to shove the stone right into the hole.

The earth began to rumble and she fell backwards, the back of her head slamming against the ground. A bright light began to emanate from the statue until it flashed out, blinding Julia. When she managed to squint back up at it, spots dancing in her eyes, the statue stood as still as before, but the fog was gone. She could now clearly see around her, bright daylight pouring down onto the grass just behind her, beyond the range of the waterfalls. The place where she sat was cloaked by a shadow. Curiously, she looked up, hoping to see what was causing such a massive shadow. However, all Julia could see was, far above her, a shadowed reddish rock formation. It had to be at least a kilometre in diameter.

The entire thing was a convex shape, like a bowl, that met the ground on a thick spire not two hundred metres from where she sat before the statue. Waterfalls spilled from the sides all around the edges. Logically, the formation should not have been able to stand without toppling sideways or crushing the spire that held it up.

_This is incredible! Do the others see this? What if Fogbound Lake is in there?_

Stumbling to her paws, Julia began to race back, now in clear visibility, to where Team Skull and her teammates had been. But when she arrived at the site, Sunflora and Corphish were absent. Only Skuntank and Koffing and Zubat remained.

"Wha – where are the others?" Julia asked in a panic, whipping her head about. Sneering, Skuntank moseyed over to her, her tail coming off her back to gently touch Julia's nose.

"The moment the fog was cleared, they decided to run back to let Chatot and Wigglytuff know," she replied coolly. Zubat and Koffing flew over to flank her, snickering at Julia. "How nice that you solved the mystery of Fogbound Lake for us. Now, we no longer are in need of your assistance."

"Don't touch me!" Julia spat, jumping away from Skuntank, her tail erect. "Are you going to knock me out, like you did the others?"

Chuckling, Skuntank laid her tail on her back and shook her head. "We may often seem untrustworthy, but believe me this time when I say they ran back. However, on one thing, you are right." She advanced, forcing Julia to step away. "We do not intend to keep you conscious to run off to Fogbound Lake and just take the treasure on your own, you know. What good would we be if we didn't defend what is rightfully ours?"

"Treasure? What treasure?"

"You really don't know?" Skuntank grinned at her, showing off her fangs. "There's said to be one of the greatest, rarest treasures of all at Fogbound Lake, and we fully intend to acquire it. Why else would we risk our necks in a dangerous expedition?"

"If there's treasure, it isn't for you to take!" Julia growled, charging electricity. "It would be for the whole guild to share! And I'm not going to let you take it for yourselves!"

"You're so cute when you try to act brave," Skuntank cooed mockingly. "My fumes would be sufficient to knock you out for a few minutes, but I think we'll go for something a little stronger this time." Koffing flew up to Skuntank's side, chortling.

"When our fumes are combined, it's not a pretty scent!" Koffing announced, leering. "We call it our noxious gas combo! So, we'll see you in a few hours, when we come around to show off our treasure to you!"

Skuntank turned so that her scent glands faced Julia, who began backing away more. There was no way she had time to knock them out before they sprayed her.

"Wait for meeee!"

The frantic cry came unexpectedly from the forest, accompanied by a large, rolling apple that stopped between Julia and Team Skull. Following it, with his arms flailing, was Wigglytuff. He grabbed the perfect apple and hugged it to his chest gleefully.

"Silly perfect apple!" he giggled, dancing about in a circle. "You thought you could escape from me, didn't you? Well, I caught you!" As if noticing them all for the first time, he looked up and smiled brightly. "And all of my friends are here, too? This is perfect! Perfect, perfect, perfect!"

Skuntank was stunned, but she turned around quickly, trying not to look incriminating. "G-Guildmaster? What are you doing here?" she stammered, glancing at Zubat and Koffing in confusion.

"Why, I was just taking a little walk through the woods when my perfect apple jumped from my paws and started rolling away!" he explained, tossing the apple onto his head to dance around while balancing it there. "And so I ran after it for a long time until I finally caught it! I was so lucky it didn't roll away from me forever!

"Julia, what are you doing here?" he added, turning to face Julia and winking. "I thought Chatot told you to go back to base camp if you found a way to clear the fog!"

"But – " Julia began, glancing at Team Skull nervously.

"No buts!" Wigglytuff insisted, making a shooing gesture with his paws. "You don't want to get on Chatot's bad side, now do you? Hurry along, now!" Hesitantly, Julia made her way around them, figuring it was useless to argue further with him, and dashed off into the woods. She could only imagine what those three would try to do to Wigglytuff. The thought of them knocking him unconscious briefly came into her mind but she shook it away. Wigglytuff may have been dense, but he wasn't weak, if the stories told about him were true. Hoping that he would be okay and that Sunflora and Corphish really had gone back to base camp, Julia picked up the pace.

Suddenly, a green blur leapt out from off the path and stopped dead in front of her. It was a fairly tall gecko-like Pokémon with a long, thick blade of grass that curved out from his head. Faintly, Julia remembered that it was a Grovyle. Slung around his neck was a basic-looking brown bag that would have been completely unremarkable had it not been glowing.

_It's odd, _she realized, feeling her heartbeat in her ears, _but I'm getting a weird feeling from that bag – or rather, whatever's in it. It's making my pulse race, like it's something very important! But what could it be?_

Cautiously, Julia took a step towards the Grovyle, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who are you?"

"That is not your concern," he whispered, glancing beyond her with an air of uncertainty. What did he have to worry about? Getting caught?

"What's in your bag?" Julia nodded to the bag but kept her eyes trained on him. When he didn't respond, she repeated, "What's that glowing in your bag?"

His eyes widened and he abruptly burst into a dash for the trees. Fur bristling, Julia gave chase.

_He looks like he could be some kind of outlaw, a thief! _she thought as she ran after him. _Why would he be acting so shifty otherwise?_

Grovyle was like a blurred image, speeding from side to side in quick spurts. By constantly running after him, Julia could follow closely enough, though she soon began to fall behind. Their chase led out of the forest and towards the great stone place. Although they didn't seem to be an awful distance away from where Julia had been confronted by Team Skull, she could see neither them nor the Guildmaster when she glanced over.

At this point, she was quite far from Grovyle, having tired herself out a bit, but she could still see him near the pillar of rock at the sky island's central base. Then, he disappeared into the pillar.

_Did he just go in there? _Julia wondered, frowning_. So there is a way up this thing. I guess I'm going to have to follow him!_

* * *

"Gah! Finally!"

It was late afternoon by the time Flame and the rest of his team arrived at base camp. It seemed like all the other teams, including Bidoof's team, had already arrived. Flame slumped forward on the ground, panting heavily.

"You three! You're late!" Chatot squawked at them, flapping his wings at them angrily. "I expected much more from you!"

"Sorry," Flame mumbled out, straightening up and walking over. He scanned the other trainees in search of Julia, but couldn't see her amongst them. Frowning, he walked to Sunflora and asked, "Hey, Sunflora, where's Julia?"

"She isn't back yet," Sunflora explained, her forehead creased with worry. "We got separated when Team Skull sent Corphish and I back. The forest isn't very foggy anymore, is it? After Julia found a way to clear it, Skuntank threatened us and forced us to leave without her."

Chatot held his head up and insisted, "Why would they do such a thing? You continue to incriminate them constantly and for no apparent reason, either!"

Flame didn't listen to him but instead made his way to the forest's entrance, clenching his fists.

"Wait! Where are you going, Flame?" Chatot called out panickedly.

"I'm going to find Julia!" Flame yelled over his shoulder, and sped into the forest. There were a couple of yells of protest but nobody seemed to chase after him. That reassuring thought in his head, Flame proceeded with fury building within him. _If Skuntank or the others hurt Julia...!_

Light filtered through the forest, sending patches of sunlight on the path. If the situation hadn't felt so dire, Flame would have loved to stop and just take in the scenery. Instead, he just pushed himself harder. Eventually, he made it out of the formerly Foggy Forest to see a huge island of rock in the sky that had waterfalls pouring over its sides. He let out an audible gasp and slowed down for a moment to catch his breath. He was vaguely aware of a cramp squeezing in his ribs, and his throat felt sore.

However, neither Julia nor Team Skull were anywhere to be seen. Had Sunflora lied to him? Flame sniffed the air and scrunched his nose up at an incredibly foul scent, even worse than just Skuntank's odour alone. There was no way that he would be able to sniff Julia under all that.

Something in the distance caught his eye and he ran up to it. It was a several metre-height statue of some colossal Pokémon that was slightly sunken into the ground. In the stone figure's chest was a glowing red rock of sorts. He approached it carefully and observed it, walking around its base curiously. On one side of the square base, there were some footprint runes inscribed. Squinting at them, Flame began to read.

"Reignite the life that burned within Groudon... Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat... The path to treasure shall be revealed."

_Was this thing what caused the fog to go away?_ he wondered, sniffing the air. He could definitely smell Julia on this, though her scent trail led back towards the forest. Where had she gone after she was confronted by Team Skull? Heck, where had they gone? A feeling of dread settled in Flame's stomach as he turned to look at the pillar that held up the island, but he began to walk in that direction anyways. Had Julia gone on to try venturing up there? Trying not to tremble in fear, Flame continued forwards.

* * *

The cave, Julia found, was very warm, with steam hissing out any cracks in the rock walls. She was soon panting from the sheer heat, but marvelled that there were pools of water distributed throughout the mystery dungeon – hot water, of course. Grovyle she had lost track of and she could no longer see him anywhere. However, she began to think of other things, such as Uxie. It was said that he could erase one's memory. If that was true, then it was very likely that it was due to him that Julia had amnesia. It would explain why this place felt familiar to her, down to the cave itself.

It could have been one hour or an eternity of climbing when she heard the first roar, a muted and quiet sound. It was such a distant noise that Julia could have convinced herself that it was just her imagination. Unfortunately, she heard it again, several times, as she continued on. The roar was hardly a comforting thing and it did put a damper on her adrenaline.

_But what about that Grovyle? _A terrible thought came to her about the mysterious Pokémon and she shook it away, forcing herself to carry on. Thinking of having to face Grovyle alone made her pine for Flame, who would be far better at damaging him. Was Flame still stuck in the mountains, with the noisy Loudred and creepy Croagunk? What a scene that would be!

A smile made its way onto Julia's face and she kept the funny thought in her mind as she went on. She heard the roars a few more times, especially as she neared what she felt was the top, yet Grovyle remained unseen. Hopefully, that roaring was directed at him.

Finally, Julia burst out into open air, breathing heavily. When she scanned the area, she found that she was on a flat area of reddish stone that was tapered inwards by fairly high walls of rock. Behind her was nothing but flat rock and the sheer drop to the ground hundreds of metres below with nothing there to stop one from falling.

The entire area gave her a nasty feeling in the pits of her stomach; a feeling of terrible danger. The sun, which was low in the sky, also felt particularly blazing; the heat in the area far exceeded the heat in Steam Cave. Julia gave a slight shudder, then looked around. If Grovyle had come through here, he would have gone down the path. She squinted down the path, trying to see what was at the end. Though the walls became thinner down there, they didn't appear to close off completely. However, the view all the way down was blocked by what looked like a red clump of rocks with little white spikes ringing it.

Then the clump of rocks took a step forwards that shook the ground. Julia jumped in surprise, bewildered by its sudden movement. Her heart pounded in her ears as the thing opened a sharp-toothed mouth and let out a furious roar.

_Was this the creature that was roaring before?! _Her thoughts were cut off by it suddenly taking more steps, each footfall causing miniature earthquakes, and it was approaching her.

Julia took a step back, her ears flattening against her head and her eyes becoming wide. It stopped less than ten metres from her, and it was not as small as it had appeared to be back there. He was almost four metres tall and made up of shining red plates that covered his back, head, arms, legs, and long, flat tail. At the edges of his plates were numerous thick, white spikes that curved inwards, and he had long, pointed claws. His golden eyes bored into her and he let out another earth-shattering roar. He looked exactly like the Groudon statue that Julia had seen below.

_Groudon...really exists?!_

"YOU! WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?" he rumbled, the sheer volume far rivalling Loudred's voice. Julia backed away further, trembling in terror, before she stood on her hind legs and addressed him as boldly as she could.

"My name is Julia," she managed, her mouth feeling dry. "I came up here chasing someone. A Grovyle."

"THERE HAVE BEEN NO GROVYLES HERE!" the Pokémon spat, glaring in rage. "YOU LIE! YOU CAME HERE TO DESECRATE FOGBOUND LAKE, DIDN'T YOU?" Julia had no time to protest before it roared on, "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE! I AM GROUDON! AND YOU SHALL NOT LEAVE HERE ALIVE!"

"That's not true!" Julia cried, backing away again, aware of the cliff edge shortly behind her. "I didn't mean to come up here alone – "

"THERE ARE OTHERS?!" Groudon let out another roar, then faced her fully. "I WILL DESTROY ALL OF THEM, STARTING WITH YOU!"

He lifted one massive foot, then brought it back down in a powerful slam that sent seismic waves right at Julia. She barely had a chance to leap sideways frantically before Groudon sent another earthquake in her direction. This one hit her and she was thrown back, and in that instant she knew she was going to fly right off the edge and smash onto the ground far below. Instead, when she opened her tightly-closed eyes, she found herself planted firmly on the ground not far from where Groudon stood, prepared to unleash another attack.

_I was about to fall off the edge, wasn't I?_ she puzzled, too confused to remember to dodge the next attack and getting hit full-force. Being that she was the electric type, which was weak to the ground type, every attack hit her with more force and fury than they would another Pokémon. Julia charged a Thunderbolt and sent it at Groudon, but the massive Pokémon didn't even blink at the hit. Was it too late to run away? With all of these earthquakes going on, Julia was surprised that the entire rock island didn't crumble and collapse.

At least a dozen loose rocks were lifted in the air and they levitated to Groudon's side. It was evident that he was controlling them; Julia didn't realize that he could have so much control over rocks and ground that he could actually lift rocks without doing so much as lifting a claw. But the realization of what was about to happen came too late and all of the rocks flew at her at unfathomable speeds. One of them smashed against her left side and another hit her in the head.

She was thrown backwards against the rocks and a furious pain in her tail told her that one of the rocks had landed on it, pinning her down to the ground. Panic surged in her throat and she fired as many electric attacks as she knew, but they were still no use. A trickle of blood ran down her face and her ribs felt like they were smashed in. Sooner than later, he could end up killing her.

_No way! I have to fight back!_

Feeling adrenaline rushing through her veins and terror-driven power, she kept attacking over and over. Another earthquake caused her to keel over, but she couldn't stop. If she gave up hope that she could defeat him, it would be like asking to die. At the very least, she didn't want to go quietly.

* * *

"Wah!"

Tremors shook the tunnels and Flame lost his balance and fell over. Every minute he spent lost in Steam Cave was a minute in which Julia might be getting badly hurt. The near-constant earthquakes, coupled with the tremendous roars that sounded ever now and then, was a sure sign of something very dangerous up ahead. Too dangerous for Julia on her own.

_I don't know whether to hope that she's up there or that she isn't, _Flame thought nervously, picking himself and running as quickly as his legs could carry him._ I did smell her at the entrance, but it's too humid in here for me to pick up her scent now. On one hand, if she is there, then that means she's in a dire situation. On the other, if she's not, then that means that not only did I come up here for nothing, but I have to face whatever's up at the top on my own!_ Flame clenched his fists and steeled himself, thinking of a lone Pikachu lying unmoving on the ground, bloodied and battered. The mere thought pushed him to hurry up, stumbling on through the tremors and ignoring his tiredness.

Suddenly, he emerged in open air with an orange-red sky and a scene that could have been straight from his nightmares. A great monster with thick red plates on its back and massive claws and teeth stood firmly amidst the destruction of upturned earth and crushed boulders all around it, and facing it was Flame's own partner, who still crackled with weak electricity despite the blood dribbling down her back and face.

"Julia!" Flame yelled, the fire on his back igniting. The beast turned its head to look at the newcomer, its yellow eyes giving Flame a look of utter hatred. Forcing himself not to look back into those eyes, Flame curled up and rolled rapidly towards it with flames surrounding his body. He smashed into it but didn't stop and instead rolled away to strike again. The beast's roars practically shook the ground, though that could have been just the earthquake attacks, and Flame finally stopped to fire embers at it and see what, if any, damage he was doing.

Surprisingly, he really did seem to be hurting it. The creature wasn't standing quite as straight as before and it was breathing heavily. Flame felt different, too. The sunlight was blindingly bright for such a late time in the day, giving his fire type attacks extra heat and power. Briefly, he wondered if this was the doing of the beast, but he didn't take too long to worry about that and he kept attacking with embers, the simplest attack for him to use. Those did the creature enough damage, on top of what pain Julia had already dealt it, and it collapsed forwards, the force of its body colliding with the ground sending another small tremor through the ground.

Taking a moment at last to breathe, Flame turned to look at Julia, who seemed to be struggling to even stay awake and was also panting.

"Julia! Are you – ?" Flame didn't finish his sentence and instead rushed to her side, sinking to his haunches once he got there to breathe hard. Julia stared at him, a question on her face, but she finally toppled over, unconscious.

"No, Julia! Wake up!" He hit her face lightly, then harder, forcing away the terrible thought that she might not wake up. Noticing the rock on the flat part of her tail, he sped to her other side and hefted it off, then fell by her side, shaking her shoulder. When he noticed her chest still moving up and down, Flame sighed in relief and began to calm down.

"You two...who are you?"

The voice came from approximately where the red Pokémon had stood. Flame looked over and realized with a start that its body had vanished.

"Um, I'm Flame and this is Julia," he stammered. "Who are you?"

"As I said, I am the guardian of Fogbound Lake," the voice replied calmly. "If you wish to desecrate this place, leave at once." Gradually, a light appeared in that area and a creature began to take shape. When the light faded, a Pokémon, who was not much larger than Flame, materialized. He had a blue-grey body, a mostly yellow head and face, and two long tails. A red, oval-shaped gem was embedded in his forehead and there was one more on each tail. With his eyes closed, he floated slowly towards Flame and Julia, his expression sharp.

Startled, Flame quickly yelped, "We aren't going to do anything bad! My partner ran up here and I chased after her, but we only came into the area to look for the lake!" The Pokémon stopped a short ways from Flame and frowned.

"More Pokémon are becoming corrupted by the distortion of time and go mad, trying to cause harm to the lake. I'm sorry, but I cannot trust you." His voice was very calm, and he didn't seem like he was going to attack. Then, slowly, his eyes opened. Instead of normal eyes with pupils and irises, his eyes were swirling yellow voids, piercing right through Flame. Suddenly, a blinding pain shot through his head and he cried out.

But he couldn't look away from those eyes, and it began to feel as if something was scraping away at his mind, cutting off thoughts.

_Who is this? Is Julia okay? What was that growl I heard? What am I doing here? Where am I?_

"What – what are you doing to Flame?!"

The Pokémon closed his eyes at Julia's sudden cry and Flame was freed from the grip of his eyes. Someone was whimpering, and he realized it was him. He swallowed hard and tried to catch his breath.

"I am erasing his memories of this place," the unknown Pokémon spoke in an infuriatingly calm voice. "It is doing him no physical harm. Now, I must also wipe your – "

"No! Not again! Please!" Flame looked up to see Julia stumble to her paws and try to get away, but she fell back on her side and glared defiantly at the Pokémon. "I already have amnesia! And it's your fault, isn't it?!"

"Amnesia?" The Pokémon shook his head. "I do not give anyone full amnesia; I only wipe their memory of Fogbound Lake. And I have never seen you before."

Julia took in a breath, then asked in a quiet voice, "What about a human? Have you ever seen a human before?"

"A human?"

"All I remember from my past is my name, and that I was a human."

The Pokémon thought for only a moment before replying. "No. I have never before seen a human. I apologize." He turned his head to Flame, who had become more confused the longer the conversation continued. "And to you, as well. I erased your memory of everything that relates to the lake, thinking you might be a corrupted Pokémon. However, I can see that you still have your sanity and your emotions.

"My name is Uxie and I am the guardian of Fogbound Lake." He heaved a sigh, then continued, "You went through enough trouble to arrive here, so, as an apology, I will take you to see Fogbound Lake personally."


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello again! I've make up my mind that, starting this week, I will update every Friday and Tuesday. That's right – two chapters a week!**

**I suppose you could call this a bonus chapter. Here, I turn the spotlight away from our main characters and decide to shine some light on our ever-fancy Sir Majestic Tail and the incessantly loud and rude Fluffy! Do enjoy, and leave me a review if you liked it, loved it, or burned your computer in hatred after you read this.**

* * *

An awkward silence stretched between Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail like a magnetic field forcing them apart. Of course, neither of them would have minded being forced apart.

"Now then, my dear Creampuff," Sir Majestic Tail addressed, "we have the whole morning in Goldenrod city to ourselves, it seems. Where shall we venture off to?"

Fluffy gave him a loathsome expression before snapping, "Look here, Fire-Butt. Just because Julia received you a day before catching me and you like to talk all fancy all the time does not make you my superior!"

"Why would you even suggest that I would imply such a thing?"

Scowling, Fluffy marched on ahead, her paws swinging back and forth in time with her legs. It was odd for Sir Majestic Tail to see her on her hind legs, looking more like Flame in body shape than a sheep Pokémon, but he supposed that he would become used to it.

As much as he loved Goldenrod city, it truly was huge. Cars flew back and forth over the streets and people rushed along the sidewalks, making everything feel busy and disorienting. He doubted that he would even be capable of finding his way back to the Pokémon Centre. And there were so many shops to visit before they returned, too! How would a few hours ever be enough?

"Let's go in here," he called out to Fluffy, who stopped and returned to his side to see what he was looking at. It was a little bakery.

"Are you kidding me, Fire-Butt?" Fluffy asked, cocking an eyebrow. "We don't have any money, and I don't really see you getting on your knees and begging."

"Then we must earn some money!" Sir Majestic Tail announced, rearing up enthusiastically. "We can go off and battle some trainers' Pokémon, then demand money from them!"

"How the heck is that going to work?" Fluffy chuckled. "What, we'll just go up to some random guy and be like, 'Hey, battle us so that we can get money, herp-a-derp?'"

"Something along those lines, yes," agreed Sir Majestic Tail, then he dashed off into the crowd, forcing Fluffy to scramble after him. As he ran, he felt stares upon his back but, convincing himself that everyone was just impressed at the way his mane flickered behind him in the wind, he pushed himself to go on.

The city may have been large, but he managed to break from the hubbub and run out onto Route 35, the route beyond the city that led to Ecruteak city, the next city over. There were a handful of people walking down the route who gaped at Sir Majestic Tail when he ran through the gate, but the nearest boy, who was, presumably, a trainer, stepped in front of him and held out a Pokéball in front of him like a gun.

"What's a Ponyta doing all the way out here on its own?" he asked, a sly smile spreading over his face. "Where's your trainer? Or are you a wild Pokémon?"

Just then, Fluffy came dashing out the gate exit and screamed, "You moron! What the hell was that about, just running off without me?!" She stormed over to him and slapped him several times across the muzzle. "What if you'd fallen into wet concrete or something? You would have died, and Julia would've blamed me! And your dumb plan is as full of holes as your peanut-sized brain!" She turned to the trainer and asked, "Did this idiot try to battle you? I'm very sorry if he did; he's a bit retarded."

The boy could say nothing. For a while. Then, cautiously, he asked, "Do you want to battle?"

"Indeed I do, young man!" Sir Majestic Tail bowed a little, then stepped away to give them some room, much to Fluffy's alarm. "But if I win, I demand that I earn prize money!"

Shrugging, the boy let out a Sandslash. "I've heard weirder shit. Alright, Spike, use Dig!" The Sandslash quickly dug at the ground with his claws and dug his way underground.

"Oh, my! If he pops up at me, I might get dirt on my coat! Ooh ooh!" Sir Majestic Tail high-stepped on the spot, staring at the ground with wide eyes. "Fluffy, do get me out of this mess!"

"First of all, you're not in any mess," Fluffy sighed, crossing her paws over her chest.

"Oh, but it might become a mess!"

"And second of all, you're the one who wanted to battle. I'm staying out of this."

"You're a dreadful friend, you know that?!"

At that moment, Spike burst from the ground right in front of Sir Majestic Tail and struck him in the muzzle with his long, pointed claws. Sir Majestic Tail gasped and hopped back, blood dripping from his chin. Then his eyes took on an expression of smug determination.

"Oh-ho, now you've gotten blood on my hooves. That is simply unforgivable." The flames on his mane and tail rose and he shot a ball of fire from his tail at Spike. The Sandslash dodged sideways but was pelted with another fire ball. In the few seconds that he cringed, Sir Majestic Tail charged him and drove a hoof-tip into his unprotected stomach.

Spike let out a gasp and fell onto his back from the blow, which was when Sir Majestic Tail stomped on one of his paws, crushing it. The pain caused the Sandslash to white out, his head dropping limply to the ground. Sir Majestic Tail snorted decidedly at him, then trotted back to his place.

"Oh, shit, Spike..." The boy pulled out Spike's Pokéball and returned him to it, closing his eyes. "That's about it, then," he muttered, digging out a wad of money from his pocket. Upon seeing Sir Majestic Tail's surprise, he said, "I have some other Pokémon, but they're weaker. I'm not even going to bother sending them out." He held out the bills to Sir Majestic Tail, who glanced over at Fluffy.

"Fluffy, do be a darling and take this money for me," he called out. Fluffy bristled and didn't move initially.

"Why do I have to take your damn money? Take it yourself!"

Winking at her, Sir Majestic Tail said, "Oh, but it is so filthy! Who knows who touched this! I could only take these between my teeth, and that would be both unhygienic and inconvenient, since I require my mouth to talk."

"You never have anything good to say, anyways," Fluffy grumbled, but she reluctantly walked over and took the money between her paws.

"Good dear," Sir Majestic Tail praised. "I'll buy you a hat for this."

The boy was beginning to look awkward, so he started to walk backwards. "Erm, I'll just be going now. I've gotta heal Spike, y'know?" With that, he made a dash for Goldenrod city. Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail paid him no mind; instead, they continued over to the next trainer they saw. She had a full team of Magikarps, all at level five. Sir Majestic Tail defeated them all tediously with his eyes rolling like a travelling Ferroseed.

Due to the great bother of taking out all of those weak Pokémon, Sir Majestic Tail decided that he'd had enough of battling and trotted back to the city with Fluffy in tow. The first tragedy came when he realized that he could not locate that adorable bakery again. The next came when they discovered the department store.

It had been by accident that they had discovered the place, which stood near the Pokémon Centre. It was no wonder that they had found it, though; it was a six storey-high building with bright blue walls and gleaming windows reflecting the afternoon sun's light. The pair stared at it in awe, then both began to present arguments to go inside at the same time. They fell silent for a moment before they walked in through the automatic double-doors at the front.

The ground floor was nothing special – the walls were a subdued shade of blue and the few people milled about didn't seem to notice Fluffy or Sir Majestic Tail. In the middle of the floor was an escalator going up and in the far right corner was an elevator. Sir Majestic Tail marched up to the lady at the service desk, who put on a strained smile as he approached.

"Is there something I can – "

"On which floor are your hats?" Sir Majestic Tail interrupted.

The woman's eye twitched and she replied in a bewildered voice, "I beg your pardon?"

"Your hats. On which floor may I find your hats?"

"Where...where is your trainer? May I speak with him?"

"Our trainer is a 'her,' and she is not present at the moment," Sir Majestic Tail explained exasperatedly. "Now, could you please tell me where I can find your hats?!"

At this point, Fluffy saw that this exchange was going nowhere and she hurried over to gently shove Sir Majestic Tail away before the confused woman could call security on them.

"It's okay, lady, we'll find the hats on our own," she told her quickly, then grabbed Sir Majestic Tail by the muzzle to drag him to the escalator. He tried to whinny out a protest but his mouth was firmly clamped shut and he had no choice but to go up the moving stairs. People going down stared at the odd pair, causing them to trip at the bottom and dogpile in a heap. The mess of limbs and bodies at awkward angles down there gave Sir Majestic Tail a small feeling of satisfaction.

"Now, then, Fire-Butt, listen here," Fluffy growled once they reached the top, "I'm going to let go of your face, but you aren't going to go talk to random humans unless you absolutely need to, got it?" She let go of his face.

"But knowing where the hat section is is of utmost importance!" Sir Majestic Tail whined and stomped a hoof angrily. "You understand, don't you?"

"Pokémon don't wear hats," Fluffy sighed, "no matter how fancy they think they are."

"It's the next best thing to a waistcoat, which is certainly out of the question for me."

Fluffy could only glare at him for a moment longer before she relented. "Fine. We'll go look for your stupid hats. But don't blow all our money on pieces of fabric, 'kay?"

They separated, looking around the second floor for any signs of hats. Upon finding nothing but Pokéballs, potions, and perplexed people, they ascended to the third floor via escalator. Here, there was an assortment of girl clothes of all kinds, but no hats. The fourth floor was the same, except the clothes were for boys.

On the fifth floor, they struck gold.

"It's..." Sir Majestic Tail stared at the racks in awe, his eyes welling up in tears. "It's nothing...but hats...glorious, _glorious_ hats..."

The back wall was covered in full-body mirrors, and the shelves in front of it displayed hats that varied from fedoras to top hats to baseball caps to beanies. The shelves were organized by price, with the most expensive hats on the furthest rack from them. Sir Majestic Tail practically glided over, slowly sliding through the shelves to observe all the hats. Fluffy rolled her eyes, then followed him.

"This must be paradise," he whimpered, nuzzling a trilby like it was a baby. "Am I dead, Fluffy-kins? Have I died and gone to heaven?"

"No, I've died and gone into limbo," Fluffy retorted. "Hurry up and find a hat you want so we can leave soon. This place gives me an uneasy feeling."

Sir Majestic Tail winked at her, then grazed his eyes over the most expensive rack. They were all too expensive for him to afford, but they looked so much nicer than the ones within his price range.

_I wish to try them on – each and every one of them!_

"Fluffy, do be a dear and help me try these on!"

"What kind of loser wants to buy a hat they can't even put on themselves?" Fluffy sighed, wincing as one of the staff gave her the 'I'm-watching-you' with his fingers. "Seriously, we should go now. All the humans that are on this floor are giving us dirty looks." Cautiously, she made her way over to him, her swinging tail nearly knocking over a shelf. He was looking decidedly at a dark blue trilby made from the finest Wigglytuff fur.

"Ugh, how can you not feel disgusted just looking at this thing?" Fluffy shuddered, but when he only shot her a glare, she lifted it off the rack for him.

Sir Majestic Tail turned to face a mirror, anticipating the delicate softness of the hat as Fluffy lowered it onto his head. All he felt was something touch his forehead, then quickly become very warm. The Sir Majestic Tail in the mirror had a flaming hat.

"It's – it's on fire!" someone on the floor screeched, causing everyone else to start panicking and running around spastically.

_What a shame about the hat, _Sir Majestic Tail thought sadly, then noticed that all the hats on the expensive rack had caught alight due to his flaming tail._ Well, this all is really rubbing my fur the wrong way._

"Run, you idiot!" Fluffy smacked him in the face and charged for the elevator. Shaking his head out, Sir Majestic Tail followed, the charred remains of the trilby falling away from his forehead. Mashing the elevator button, Fluffy kept darting her gaze around at the people, who were rampaging through the store now that the fire was spreading to the next hat rack. Some of them released water type Pokémon to put out the fire, but a couple of men in blue uniforms that read 'Security' on the back ran at Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail, yelling obscenities.

Finally, the elevator doors slid open and Fluffy crammed herself in. Sir Majestic Tail used Fire Spin to put a wall of fire between them and the security guards, then also stepped into the elevator. The elevator operator looked placid, as if she had already seen a Ponyta and a Flaaffy burn down half of the hat section then dash into the elevator too many times in her life.

"Which floor would you – "

"Ground floor, and pronto!" interrupted Fluffy, sighing as the doors closed.

"Certainly." The woman pressed a button. "Elevator going down."

"Listen, Fire-Butt," Fluffy addressed seriously, "we're not out of the fray yet. When these doors open, we run. Got it?"

Sir Majestic Tail tossed his mane. "Of course I got it. While it is awfully impolite to run indoors, I suppose we can make an exception, if only to save our fur."

"We have arrived at ground floor." The doors opened. "Thank you for shopping with us today." But Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail hadn't stuck around to hear the end of it. The two pelted across the room, the latter of whom's hooves slipping on the waxed floor on every sharp turn.

The automatic front doors slid apart and they broke from the store into the busy crowds outside. They ran on for a minute longer before stopping to catch their breaths.

"I think you may have dropped my money somewhere."

"Shut up."

With shopping now out of the question, they were once again left with nothing to do. For a few minutes, that is. They had wandered around for a bit when Fluffy suddenly hissed, "Shh!" at Sir Majestic Tail and dragged him behind a trimmed bush in someone's yard. She took his head in both her paws and turned it so that he had a view of the sidewalk. Sir Majestic Tail, having recently been scarred by being the one responsible for setting countless dollars' worth of hats alight, stayed a good metre away from the bush, but looked at the sidewalk regardless.

And noticed a familiar face.

"That man wearing the cap and jeans...is he not that psychic Team Fury person?" Sir Majestic Tail whispered. Fluffy nodded, following the man with her gaze.

"His name was Jerome, I think," she whispered back. He walked out of sight, then the two turned to look at each other. "Shall we follow him?"

"We shall."

* * *

'The Smoky Meloetta' was the name of the café Jerome entered, a dark brown-painted building tucked away in an isolated city corner. Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail had trailed him down a road lined with grungy apartment buildings and shady motels with filthy sidewalks littered with wrappers and old soda cans and newspapers. They exchanged a nervous glance before following him into the café.

True to its name, the air inside was filled with smoke and it was as dark on the inside as it was the outside. At the far end of the room was a dimly-lit stage where a woman wearing a red dress lounged on a piano, singing slow jazz tunes to a pianist and a drummer. People with their Pokémon were clustered around round tables, drinking beer or talking with a friend, a cigarette held between two fingers.

Nobody seemed to pay attention to the two, and they quickly spotted Jerome slouching alone at a table, poking at the foam that spilled over the edge of his mug. His eyes slid over to Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail, his gaze upon them becoming harsher. He picked up his mug and took several gulps from it before refocussing on them.

"What now?" Sir Majestic Tail asked softly, looking Jerome back in the eyes at all times.

"I got this," Fluffy replied. "Just follow my lead." Taking in a deep breath, she moseyed over to Jerome's table and gestured to the other seats.

"These taken?" she asked, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Jerome only shrugged at her, frowning in suspicion. Fluffy plopped herself into a seat, an action Sir Majestic Tail envied. Sure, he could sit, but the plastic cushion casing on the steel-frame chair would melt as soon as his tail came in contact with it. Oftentimes, he felt that he was inadequately named.

"What do you two want?" Jerome growled, pushing the handle of the mug around languidly. "Where's your bitch of a trainer, eh? Waiting at the door or something?"

Fluffy laughed softly with an unpleasant edge in the sound of it; almost like a villain's laugh. "That faggot? Oh, she's off somewhere else. Who the hell cares? She doesn't know, or care, where we are."

Sir Majestic Tail bristled, trying not to show how disturbed he felt. This surely had to be a front on Fluffy's part! For her to speak so lowly of their trainer was unsettling and disgusting. If he hadn't been clinging on to the hope that this was somehow part of her plan, he would have kicked her, right then and there.

_No, I must keep my faith in Fluffy, _Sir Majestic Tail told himself._ She must be just earning his trust...but why?_

Whether she was acting or not, her words caused Jerome to smirk and he took another sip of his drink which, now that Sir Majestic Tail was close enough to smell it, appeared to be alcoholic as well.

"So if you're not here to take revenge on me or whatever, why are you here?"

"We saw you outside, and we followed. We'd like to talk with you." The jazz performance in the background ended and applause broke through the crowd as well as whistles and whoops. "Nice show you all put on last night. Very impressive."

"Heh. Wish I could've been a part of that. After I woke up with a bleeding lump on my head, Scorch told me I was unfit to go to the evening raid. Then she sat me down in a bed at our 'place' and forced me to get rest. What a bitch, eh?" He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "That chick – what's her name, Julia? – is definitely an odd one. She's so easy to read, like a piece of paper. You couldn't have gotten a worse trainer."

"You're not kidding," Fluffy groaned, rolling her eyes. "She hasn't trained me at all, and she spent at least two extra hours just loitering around Ilex Forest uselessly, looking for treasure or some shit. What a little kid."

Sir Majestic Tail suddenly remembered something and shivers crawled up his spine like tiny Joltiks. Jerome was a psychic type, who had demonstrated many times his ability to read minds. If Fluffy had been insincere to him, wouldn't he have called her out on it? He was already giving Sir Majestic Tail an odd, almost victorious look.

"Sir, what could that girl possibly have going for her that you value?" Jerome had now turned to Sir Majestic Tail and was smiling, his chin propped up with a hand. "You were trained by a professional in manners and riding, weren't you? She's just some newbie trainer that you got handed over to."

Sir Majestic Tail grimaced, breaking eye contact. Now he could see into memories, too?

_As much as I hate to admit it, it's true. She's but a kid...who, more often than not, seems unstable. Julia keeps acting oddly, especially around Flame. It...it is almost to the point of psychotic._

"So, she isn't quite perfect, now is she?" Jerome smirked, taking a gulp of beer. "Whaddaya say I get you two a new trainer – a better trainer?"

"Oh?" Fluffy leaned forwards on the table, her eyes glinting. "And how do you plan to do that for us?"

"You could just snag your own Pokéballs and run, but what if we went further? Say Team Fury took her out? When our plan is put further in motion, we won't just be exterminating those worthless normal types, but normal type supporters, too." He raised an eyebrow at them, grinning suggestively. "I'll specifically target her, and all you have to do in return is support us. I'll prove to you how useful it'll be to have a properly trained psychic trainer at your disposal. The three of us will be an unstoppable force.

"So, what do you say?"

Fluffy reached out a paw to him, and he shook it. "I say: deal. Sir Majestic Tail? What about you?"

_Wait, what? Sir...?_ Quickly, he stopped himself from thinking that and he nodded, feeling as much hatred towards Julia as he could.

"Anything to have us be rid of her," he agreed. Jerome nodded back, chuckling.

"Perfect. I'll have my payback on her, and you'll have your freedom." He tilted his head to the side and a crack could be heard. "Now, it's close to noon. You'd best be going back to the Pokémon Centre now."

Fluffy stood, preparing to walk away, then asked over her shoulder, "How will we know when to meet up with you? Can you contact us with your Psychic from a distance?"

"Naw. Unfortunately, I can only read the minds of those nearby, but I can always just teleport." He shrugged, then tipped his mug into his mouth to drink the rest of the beer. "See ya."

Grinning, Fluffy led Sir Majestic Tail out of the café and back onto the bustling main streets. She hadn't said a word to him the moment they left the café, causing him to become more and more concerned and uncertain. Had she really meant it? Were they now on Team Fury's side? He frowned, guilt surging through him. In terror that Jerome might read his uncertain mind, Sir Majestic Tail had tried to think as negatively of Julia as possible, but now he felt even more conflicted.

_As much as I do adore her at times, she really is odd. And she has no clue about how to really train us. She is far from the worst possible trainer that I could have gotten, but she is far from the best._

Fluffy suddenly stopped and slapped Sir Majestic Tail. He whinnied in protest and leapt back, staring at her. Her expression had suddenly become fiery and she clenched her fists.

"I know what you're thinking, Fire-Butt," she snapped, "and I'll have you know there's no way in hell I'm betraying her."

"Wh-what? We aren't?"

"I called you by your real name to clue you in on what I was doing. The guy's a psychic, remember? I needed to be as sincere as possible, but we can't have her die yet." Fluffy turned away slightly, folding her arms. "There's something...not quite right about her and Flame. If she only just met her, how can they be acting like they've known each other their whole lives?"

Sir Majestic Tail felt a sudden chill when she said that and he felt oddly uncomfortable. He had never really noticed it, but it was true. They _were_ too close.

"Is she lying to us? Or is it something else?" he asked.

"I don't know. Not yet." She faced him and gave him a determined expression. "But I intend to find out."

* * *

**No Wigglytuffs were harmed in the making of this chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's our first-ever Tuesday update! The updating was getting slow, so I decided it was high time to go with two chapters per week.**

**As usual, let me know what you think of the chapter, since every review is sacred and every review is great! Enjoy!**

* * *

The last few rays of light recoiled from the sky, receding behind the mountain peaks. The surface of the rock island was bathed in a warm glow, but behind Uxie, Flame, and Julia, stars already crept onto the dark canvas of the approaching night. Before them, spanning over seventy metres, was Fogbound Lake. It was not was not what Julia had expected.

It was far more.

In the late evening light, the surface glimmered like thousands of tiny gems. The water was crystal clear and almost completely still, like a gleaming mirror.

"Uxie...this is beautiful." She turned to glance at Flame, who stood beside her with an expression of awe on his face.

"Y-yeah," he agreed, staring at the water's sparkling surface. "But, uh, if Uxie wiped my memory...then you'd know why we're here?" Julia remembered with a start that Uxie had indeed erased all of his memories that related to the lake, including the mission from Wigglytuff and Chatot.

"We came with the guild to try to intercept the Time Gear thief," Julia told him, "but I guess you followed me when I chased that Grovyle up here."

"Grovyle? You chased a Grovyle? Why?"

"Because – " She broke off and suddenly realized that she didn't know why. He had hardly spoken a word to her and ran off. "Um, he seemed suspicious, I guess. He looked nervous and ran off when I tried to talk to him."

Looking contemplative, Uxie murmured, "Interesting. A Grovyle, you say?"

"That's right."

"Foggy Forest is not a natural habitat for a Grovyle. They prefer warmer climates and jungles. This may be a large question to spring on you right now, but do you perhaps think..." Uxie faced Julia; even though his eyes were closed, it felt like he was gazing deeply at her – glaring, even. "...that this particular Grovyle could be the Time Gear thief?"

"What?!" The exclamation came from both Flame and Julia, who exchanged bewildered glances.

"But...that's too much of a coincidence!" Julia protested. "That I be the one, out my whole guild, to meet him? That's...that's – "

"It may seem impossible," Uxie agreed, turning to the lake, "however, it is said that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps it was fate that you met him, and that it was your partner's memory that I erased and not yours."

"Maybe... I mean, he did have a bag. Most wild Pokémon that I meet don't carry items with them." Her throat clenched up as she recalled that his bag had also been glowing oddly. Before she could mention that, though, Uxie nodded at her, then jerked his head at the lake and began to speak again.

"If he was carrying Time Gears with him, then you would have been able to see it. Take a look at the lake. Do you see that? Come closer to the edge, if it helps you see it better."

Cautiously, Flame and Julia came as close to the water's edge as they dared, frowning out at the water. Then they saw it.

"Wait, is that that a...?" Flame began, but Uxie simply nodded.

"Yes. What I work so hard to protect here...is a Time Gear."

In the centre of the lake was an odd light that radiated outwards, illuminating the water even though the sun's light had died by now. The blue-green light stemmed from a tiny speck; what must have been the Time Gear.

_I can't believe it! It's a real Time Gear! _Julia thought excitedly. Her pulse sped up and she felt the desire to reach out and touch it_. Oh, man, I'm getting a lump in my throat just looking at it! And why is my heart beating so quickly? It's such an odd sensation, but where have I felt it before?_

Grovyle's bag. This same feeling had come when she saw his bag. It was the same light. It all became clear to her in that instant. That Grovyle she had seen must have been the Time Gear thief.

"Every Time Gear gives off that bright glow of purity," Uxie explained. "When you saw him, was his bag emitting a light like this one?"

_No, it can't be, _she suddenly thought_. There's something about him, in the way that he was, that makes me absolutely certain that he couldn't have been so evil to steal something so important! _

"I...I don't know," she finally managed. "In that light, it was hard to tell." If she told Uxie about the glow she saw, no amount of convincing would be able to persuade him that this Grovyle was innocent. "And besides, I just don't think that he would be capable of it," she continued. "I don't know how to explain it, but...I just..."

"I understand," Uxie said unexpectedly. "I know well the feeling you speak of. Sometimes, it is better to listen to what your inner voice is telling you. However, this is unfortunate, in a way. I had hoped that if I knew who I would have to face in battle, I could better prepare myself."

"Don't worry!" Julia said. "Our entire guild is here to – "

"I know. You said that they came to stop the thief when you were explaining to Flame. But all of you being here will do more harm than good."

"Are you saying that you're sending us away?" Julia asked, cocking her head. "But wouldn't it be better if we were all here to help?"

Uxie let out a chuckle. "You think that the thief will come when there are over ten Pokémon here waiting for him? No, this is something I must do alone, I am afraid. However, I will have the ability to summon my Groudon illusion." Before Julia even had a chance to be confused, Uxie touched the gem on his forehead and Groudon slowly materialized behind him, flickering unsteadily.

"Yeek! What is that?!" Flame cried out. Julia came forward and grabbed his paw.

"That's Groudon! How did he just appear like that?!"

Again, Uxie laughed, a small smile appearing on his face. "Groudon is just a psychic illusion I create when those few Pokémon do manage to reach Fogbound Lake. Somewhere in this world, there is another, in-the-flesh Groudon, but this one certainly is not him."

"Are you saying," Julia began, "that what we risked our lives fighting was just an illusion?"

"We fought that?"

"Yeah. Actually..." Julia turned her head away a bit, feeling her face grow warm, "you saved me. That's how I got all these gashes." Flame seemed to notice her injuries for the first time since his memories were wiped.

"Oh, Arceus! Those look awful! And you got them from fighting a psychic illusion?!"

"You misunderstand," Uxie spoke. "I put every ounce of my energy into that illusion. When you fought Groudon, you were really battling me. You two are not the first to defeat me, either. Those Pokémon who defeated me, however, had malicious intent. All they were concerned about was obtaining the treasure of Fogbound Lake, and I wiped their memories."

"The treasure?" Flame questioned. It came to Julia that Skuntank had said something about a treasure and her interest was piqued.

But Uxie shook his head at them. "Do not get your hopes up. This so-called 'treasure' is that Time Gear."

"A Time Gear? Too bad! We can't take a Time Gear!"

All three of them looked back to see who had spoken and Julia and Flame gasped.

"W-Wigglytuff?!" Julia exclaimed as the pink Pokémon cheerfully strolled in with a smile on his face.

"Hiya, friends!" he greeted, walking over to the edge of the lake. "Wow! What a great view!" Uxie frowned at him uneasily, glancing at Flame and Julia.

"And who might this be?"

"Oh, this is Wigglytuff, our Guildmaster," Julia explained quickly. The psychic Pokémon nodded but still looked uneasy.

"Glad to meet you, friend!" Unexpectedly, Wigglytuff took a bound towards Uxie and shook his hand vigourously. "Friend! Friend! Friend!" Uxie tore his hand away, looking taken aback by Wigglytuff's forwardness. But Wigglytuff had already bounced away to the Groudon illusion and called out, "And you, too! Friend! Friend! Friend!"

Julia couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed for him; surely he realized that he was talking to a flickering illusion? It occurred to her to ask him about what happened to Team Skull, but he was now standing by the lake's edge again, beaming.

"What a lovely sight! I'm so glad that we came here!" He began to hum happily, dancing on the spot. Sighing at him, Julia faced the lake and stared out over it. Now that night was in full swing, the light stemming from the Time Gear was more vivid and bright, and tiny dots of light bounced along languidly through the air. When she squinted, she could make out pairs of Volbeats and Illumises dancing about together. It truly was beautiful.

"Wha – ! What on earth – ?!"

Once again, they all turned back to look at the newcomers. This time, it was the whole guild, and they were all staring at the Groudon in shock.

"That's...that's...!" Loudred stammered, stepping away.

Sunflora clung to him from behind in terror and cried out, "Spit it out, already! That's Groudon!"

Turning to Wigglytuff in panic, Chatot began, "Guildmaster – "

"Don't worry about that, silly!" Wigglytuff interrupted, beaming. "Come over here instead and take a look at this view!" One by one, the guild members tore their gazes from Groudon and crowded around the water's edge. With a mighty crash, a torrent of water spouted from the centre of the lake over the Time Gear; the Volbeats and Illumises seemed unaffected by this.

"Every once in a while, this geyser erupts," Uxie explained, looking over it with a serene expression. "I suppose one could call it a pleasant sight."

"Are you kidding?" Wigglytuff shot a sideways glance at Uxie, his emerald eyes shining. "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" He faced the lake again and added, "You said that the Time Gear is the treasure, but I think it's really the view of Fogbound Lake!"

_It really is a treasure, _Julia thought, leaning back on her haunches._ The way the light from the Time Gear is illuminating the fountain of water, and all the Volbeats and Illumises... Hang on, didn't Uxie say that he had never seen me before? _An odd feeling rose up in her gut and she suddenly felt a lot colder_. Then how do I know this place?! And why is that Time Gear giving me such a bad feeling? It's making me feel really anxious, but why?!_

A paw touched hers and she glanced to the side to see Flame awkwardly look away from her, his face red.

"Isn't this nice?" he asked, his voice wavering. "Being here with everybody...and you..."

A small smile made its way onto Julia's face and she squeezed his paw back, then stepped sideways to close the gap between them. "Yeah, it's great, Flame." He smiled back up at her with his normally closed red eyes wide and full of emotion.

Everybody seemed to be captivated by the lake; they all sat by the bank together, content to just sit and watch. Even Uxie, who had been nervous about all of these Pokémon so near to the Time Gear, now relaxed and faced the lake. Whether he was really seeing the full majesty from behind his closed eyes was anyone's guess, though Julia figured that he had seen this enough times to be unimpressed by the sight by now.

After a while longer, Wigglytuff stood up and looked to Uxie. "Thank you so very much for letting us see the lake, friend!"

Uxie nodded, letting out a sigh. "I wish, for my own security, that I had the heart to wipe your memories, but I simply do not. Besides, I fear that the Time Gear thief already knows where this Time Gear is. I only ask of you all not to tell anyone about Fogbound Lake."

"Another Time Gear has been stolen, you know," Wigglytuff told him, giving him a worried look. "The reason we came here in the first place was to try to stop the thief."

"I appreciate your concern; however, it would be unwise for all of you to be here at once. The thief will never show his face if he knows that there is an ambush waiting for him. Do not underestimate me; I have enough power to defeat him on my own, and I know to expect him. It would be better for all of you to return home and leave me to this."

_I suppose our coming here was for...well, it wasn't for nothing, but the purpose of our expedition was defeated. _Julia frowned, glancing at the Groudon illusion_. And will Uxie really be powerful enough to stop the thief on his own? Flame and I defeated him – not without taking some damage, of course... _Her gashes had dried up, but she got the feeling that she would be limping for a few weeks_. But we're just rookies, and this guy's gotta be powerful if he can take two Time Gears on his own..._

"You got it!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, saluting Uxie. "We'll just tell anyone who asks that the expedition was unsuccessful and that we found nothing, right, guys?" There came murmured agreements from the group, most of whom were still entranced by the lake or stunned by the fact that Uxie didn't want their help. Chatot stood up from where he had sat beside Wigglytuff and faced them all sternly.

"Come on, all of you," he said, "let's be serious about this. Does everyone understand?" Now everybody responded enthusiastically, roused by the parrot Pokémon. "Very good." Chatot faced Uxie and told him, "We shall take our leave now. Once again, thank you."

"It's time to go home, guys!" Wigglytuff called out, to which the whole guild replied with a cheerful, "HOORAY!"

* * *

"UP AND AT 'EM, GUYS! It's MORNING!"

Flame put his paws over his ears and groaned, curling into his bed more. It was late when they got back the night previous and he felt like he'd slept less than an hour.

"Come ON, you two SLACKERS!" Loudred hollered at them. "It's back to WORK as usual!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Flame waved a paw at him feebly before sitting up. "Just give us a minute to wake up."

"You'll be late!" Loudred warned. Suddenly, Sunflora came up from behind him and smacked his arm crossly.

"If you're going to yell at them about being late, then just wake them up earlier than a minute to the morning address, for goodness' sakes!"

"They should be GLAD I wake 'em up at all!" he snapped back at her. Sunflora started arguing with him again, and they broke into a full-fledged fight again.

As usual, Flame noted, getting up and sneaking past them. As it turned out, it was Loudred and Sunflora who were late for once and who were scolded by Chatot. After the morning address was over and the sleepwalking Wigglytuff had stumbled back into his room, Flame and Julia headed over to the ladder to pick out some jobs for the day. Still groggy from the rude wake-up, Flame didn't notice the Pokémon jumping down from above as he began climbing the ladder. As a result, it collided right into him and smacked him onto the floor.

"Wooow, Perry! You've gotta check this out!"

_Perry?_ Flame thought from under the Pokémon, who seemed oblivious to the fact that it was sitting on top of him. _That's a familiar name. Where have I heard it before, though?_

His answer came when a small Spearow flew down to land neatly in front of him.

"Lucky, I'd suggest that you get off that Cyndaquil," he chirped calmly, "as it seems you're crushing him slightly."

"Who?" the Pokémon on top of Flame asked, then hopped off. "Whoops! It does look like I landed on you! Sorry!"

"Are you okay?" Julia asked, coming over to his side with a poorly-hidden smile. However, Flame was too surprised to answer.

"It's you kids!" he exclaimed, staring at the Spearow and the Riolu. "From our first mission!"

Perry sighed, giving a sideways frown to his 'brother.' "I honestly didn't think Lucky meant it when he said he wanted to join an exploration guild, but here we are." He really didn't look as thrilled as Lucky was to be there, since the Riolu had already taken off and had decided to bother Loudred with pointless questions.

"Excuse me, but who are you and what are you doing here?" questioned Chatot, hopping over with a suspicious frown on his face. Lucky noticed him and ran over to Perry, saluting Chatot excitedly.

"I'm Lucky and this is my brother, Perry, sir!" he shouted. "And we'd like to sign up at the guild as apprentices, sir!"

Looking uneasy at Lucky's behaviour, Chatot ruffled his feathers and stood tall. "Very well, then. Please follow me to the Guildmaster's office. And you two!" He turned to Flame and Julia, who had just been standing there. "Go make yourselves useful! No shirking your work, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Flame instantly said, then cringed at the raised-eyebrow look that Chatot gave him. It seemed that Lucky's enthusiasm had rubbed off on him. Nevertheless, he quickly scurried up the ladder with Julia in tow.

"Oh my gosh, did you see those cute little kids just now?" Sunflora giggled when they reached the top, her temper after dealing with Loudred presumably forgotten. "That Riolu just came barrelling in and running around! Wasn't he the same one as the one that came in a few moons ago after you completed your first rescue mission?"

"Seems like it," Flame grumbled. "If they actually get accepted at the guild, they're gonna be a real pain in the ass to deal with."

"Silly Flame, don't you know that Guildmaster Wigglytuff accepts _everyone_ into the guild? It's just that Pokémon don't apply very often. It was almost a year between the time that Bidoof arrived that you did."

Already developing a dislike towards Lucky, Flame quickly walked to the job bulletin board to check for any suitable jobs. It wasn't a minute before a 'Yoom-TAH!" from downstairs could be heard, and all the Pokémon in the room jumped. A short while later, Lucky rushed up the ladder and stood triumphantly in the room with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck and a bag over his shoulder. Behind him, Perry flew up looking entirely nonchalant.

"Alright! Get ready, world, for Team Win!" Lucky exclaimed proudly. Everyone in the room stared at him awkwardly and Flame couldn't help but cringe. What kind of name was 'Team Win?'

"Now, then," Chatot said, hopping up the ladder and ushering them over to where Julia and Flame were standing with his wings, "why don't we see which assignment you ought to take first and foremost?" He also seemed to be uncomfortable with Lucky, though Perry was completely ignored. The Spearow really didn't have much presence compared to his brother. Team Eleblaze stepped away from the board to allow the new recruits and Chatot to move towards it. This irked Flame; he'd only managed to grab one job request.

"Well, we do have this one request," he sighed, "and it's in...Apple Woods."

Unexpectedly, Chatot turned his head and echoed, "Apple Woods? Erm, Flame, Julia, if you wouldn't mind, could you please also grab some perfect apples while you're there?"

"Perfect apples? Uh, I guess so – "

"There are trees bearing perfect apples deep in the woods," Chatot interrupted. "I noticed today that our stocks are depleted. I planned on going for them myself – no, Lucky! Cut that out! You can't just take all of the requests! – but with these two now, I already have a wingful of things to deal with. It would be awful if – stop playing with my tail! No, it's a perfectly normal tail for my species! – if Wigglytuff were to run out of perfect apples. You understand, right?"

Poor Chatot looked so pained that Flame nodded immediately. "But, um, what would happen if Wigglytuff ran out?"

"It's that, well..." Chatot trailed off, shutting his eyes tightly. After a pause, he continued, "...and that's what would happen."

"Uh, what?"

"Anywho, you had better go now. You have a job request to fulfill as – what? No, Lucky, I said perfect apple! Goodness!"

Perry, who had been silent the entire time, now finally asked, "Are you a male or a female?"

The question seemed to hush the entire room and everybody looked at Perry like he was insane. Chatot was frozen in place, shock etched across his face before he shook his head and responded, "Well, that is a fairly obvious answer, isn't it?"

"No, I really can't tell," Perry said, turning his head to the side. "Your voice is almost higher pitched than mine, and I'm a good deal younger than you and a different species."

If the room had been quiet before, it was dead silent now. A chill seemed to cut through Flame, even though what Perry had just said could be better described as a burn.

"You...you...insolent little brat!" Chatot finally screeched, glaring daggers at the confused Perry. "I have never had anyone, younger or older than me, insult me so rudely! If you are trying to boost yourself up on insults like this, then I will absolutely not tolerate it!"

Looking afraid, Perry backed away into the room. Chatot advanced on him, his eyes blazing fiercely. "Don't you try to run away – " he began, but was cut off by Wigglytuff quickly scrambling up the stairs and grabbing him by the wings.

"Let go of me!" Chatot yelled, but Wigglytuff ignored that and grabbed him around his chest instead and picking him up off the ground. "He deserves it!" The bird Pokémon struggled against Wigglytuff's paws, flailing about his wings and talons. "Let me go so I can show him – !"

"Just calm down, Chatot!" Unsurprisingly, Wigglytuff was still cheerful as he spoke, which only seemed to aggravate Chatot more. "He didn't mean it, now did you, Perry?"

The Spearow shook his head quickly, swallowing.

"See, Chatot? It's no big deal!"

Chatot stopped struggling and his rage had subsided, but he still looked upset. "You don't understand, sir! A Chatot's voice is the most important thing to him, even more so than appearance or reputation! Being mocked like that is the ultimate – "

"I know, I know. Perry, you do have to learn to respect your leaders, understood?"

"Y-yes, sir."

Setting Chatot down, Wigglytuff added, "Just for today, you and Lucky can help out around the guild, okay? That way, you can also get to know the Pokémon around here!" Lucky beamed as if that was the greatest honour in the world rather than a punishment.

"Alright! We get to spend the day at the guild! That's awesome, Perry, isn't it?" Perry could only nod, still shaken up from being yelled at. With a smile, Wigglytuff beckoned and led the three of them downstairs, one grumbling Chatot included.

"That kid must be bloody MAD!" Loudred eventually exclaimed. He had come up the ladder before the kids did, and he looked both shaken up and amused. "I've never seen ANYONE talk about Chatot's VOICE so bluntly!"

"Of course you haven't!" Sunflora folded her arms and sighed at him. "That's because you can't really see yourself, can you?" At Flame and Julia's confused expressions, she explained, "Maybe it was two years ago or something, but when we were new at the guild, Loudred actually made fun of Chatot! Eek! And he got in so much trouble!"

"I can imagine," Julia sighed. "Well, Flame, we'd better get going. Those perfect apples aren't going to pick themselves." Nodding, Flame followed her up the ladder and out of the guild.

"So, Apple Woods, eh?" he asked, pulling out his map and scrutinizing it. "We've been there once or twice, but we never went very far in. Chatot said the perfect apples would be pretty deep, right? I guess – wah!" He hadn't been looking where he was walking and he tumbled down the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Julia sprinted down the stairs and snickered at him. "That looked pretty painful."

Blushing, Flame mumbled, "I'm fine." He got up quickly and dusted himself off then, rolling up the map and putting it in his bag, led the way out.

* * *

"Seems they're off on an errand, eh?"

"Yep, looks like it. Man, just seeing them makes me want to strangle something!"

"Yeah, that damn Wigglytuff is stronger than he looks! He really messed us up!"

"That bastard will pay. If those two are off to Apple Woods, then they're likely getting perfect apples for him."

"The guy's obsessed with them, ain't he?"

"He's too tough for us to fight, but if we can stop him from getting perfect apples, we'll piss him off nicely. We're going to get our revenge on him through those runts, won't we, boys?"

"You got it!"

"Woah-ho-ho! This is gonna be sweet!"

"Yes, revenge is very sweet. Chaw-haw-haw..."


	21. Chapter 21

**The twice a week update thing is going to be tough for me, but heck, I can handle it! Anyways, I'm really thrilled that my story has made it this far already. The plot is really picking up! And I have you, reviewers, to thank! Every review just gives me more enthusiasm to write!**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The PokéGear rang in Julia's new bag, and she pulled it out to answer whoever was calling. Flame couldn't see who it was from where she stood, but she quickly recognized the voice.

"Oh, Arceus, Jules, you're alright!"

"Hi, Leo. Yes, I'm fine. Mostly, anyways. My clothes got burnt, so I had to go and buy new ones."

"Dammit, you freaked me out when you didn't pick up last night! I really thought you'd died or something!"

It was frustrating that Julia could have her own little conversation going on while Flame was stuck with just walking by her side and craning her neck up to try and see the screen. _Arceus, you put me into the wrong body! I don't want to be a Pokémon; why couldn't I have been a human? Is that too much to ask for?!_

"Did you get out of Ilex Forest before it happened?" The tone in Leo's voice was different now, similar to how Julia's mom had gotten when she had mentioned Ilex Forest. _Who cares? It's just some forest. There's nothing wrong with it, really._

"What, the attack?"

"No, the transformation."

It sounded too cryptic and mysterious at this point. Flame wanted to see Leo. She tugged at Julia's shirt, which she had bought at the department store, until Julia noticed and nodded, moving to one of the benches. Hopping onto the bench, Flame leaned on Julia's shoulder to look at the screen, on which Leo's face was displayed. The boy looked anxious, but he smiled at Flame when she came into his view.

"What transformation? What do you mean by that?" Julia asked for Flame, who remembered with slight annoyance that Leo couldn't understand Pokémon speech.

"I've been looking through all the news sources I could find online, and what all the official news sites were saying is that it's from, I dunno, a stray Drowzee or something that was causing illusions? But when I went onto the Crypt of the Unown site, they said that it's a distortion!"

Julia leaned back, holding back a laugh. "You mean, like in that movie where Giratina – "

"No! You don't get it!" Leo slammed his palms on the table in front of him, then sighed. "Sorry. I know that I've been telling you conspiracy theories a lot for a while, but I mean it when I'm saying that this is something else. Something more important. And they're saying it's not the only place that's messed up. That blogger guy who's going into Mount Coronet? He's going in because the distortions are happening there, too!"

_He's full of shit, _Flame thought privately, trying to look enthralled_. And Julia had to go through her childhood listening to him a lot, too? That must have sucked!_

"Why didn't you tell me that yesterday when you were telling us about him, then?" Julia asked, curling a lock of her hair around a finger. "It sounds like a pretty big deal."

"I..." Leo rubbed an arm, looking like he'd all but given up trying to convince her. "I thought it was crap yesterday, too. That's why I didn't mention it. But now that it's happened in Ilex Forest, too, I'm starting to think the theory holds water. Just be careful, okay? They don't know how bad it is in there yet or how dangerous it is."

"Sure. I'll let you know if I see anything odd."

Leo's eyes lit up a bit at that and he added, "You know I'm starting a mystery blog of my own, right? I could be the one giving out new information! That'd be so cool!"

Stretching an arm out behind her head, Julia asked, "So, how's Corphish doing? He seemed pretty freaked out yesterday."

"About that..." Leo slumped forwards on his desk, resting his head on his arms and looking up at her defeatedly. "He ran away right after our call finished. I mean it. Right out the door, babbling some gibberish about something or other. And he hasn't come back. Julia, what do I do? Corphish's never done this before. It's like he went nuts or something."

Flame bit back the retort of, "Just like you?" but held it back, even though he wouldn't be able to understand it. Julia looked too concerned about this for Flame to be making rude jokes about Leo, even if he was a nut. Besides, it was interesting. From what she could gather from their last call, Corphish was very close to Leo, in personality and as friends. She couldn't imagine why a Pokémon would run off for no reason like that.

_Was it my fault, somehow? _she wondered._ I'm pretty sure that Corphish met Julia before, so I'd be the only person unfamiliar to him. Gah! This is really getting on my nerves! Why does everything have to be so weird for me right now?!_

"Have you put up missing posters?" Julia asked, letting out a sigh. "I mean, how far can he have gone? Knowing him, he probably got spooked that I was on the other end of a screen and wanted to check to see if I was home." Looking absolutely miserable, Leo shrugged, rubbing at his eyes. "Don't worry, Leo, you'll find him," she added sincerely. "I mean, you guys are besties! He wouldn't just leave you like that for no reason!"

"I should have just taken that course on understanding Pokémon!" Leo yelled in frustration. "Dammit! Then, maybe I'd have known what he was saying to me when he left! But no, I wanted to take the mythology course! The school should've forced everyone to take it!"

Julia exchanged a glance with Flame, her eyes exasperated. She was evidently unable to reason with Leo anymore. Flame felt for her, and felt the urge to just close the PokéGear and put it away. At the same time, however, something else tugged at her and she glanced back. From where they were in the city, she couldn't see Ilex Forest, but now she felt more curious. Something was weird about it, and she wanted to explore it.

"Sorry, Jules, I know I'm overreacting," Leo sighed, "but he really...y'know...I'm worried about him, that's all. I'll tell you if I find him, and call me if you get any new info, 'kay?" Julia just nodded in response, and Leo hung up. Standing up, she pocketed the PokéGear and glanced at Flame.

"We got our shopping done and it's getting close to lunchtime, so do you wanna head back to the Pokémon Centre now?" Shrugging indifferently, Flame slid off the bench and followed her. It was a several-minute walk over and by the time they got there, Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail already stood by the doors.

"You're late!" exclaimed Sir Majestic Tail, huffing. "We had to wait out here for almost half an hour!"

"More like five minutes," Fluffy corrected snidely.

"My hooves are so tired they could just fall off!"

"Honestly, guys!" Julia laughed. "I'm just glad you didn't kill each other! Let's go and get some lunch, alright?"

* * *

They were just returning to the Pokémon Centre when Julia's PokéGear rang again. This time, it was Bugsy.

"Julia, I'd like to meet you at the entrance of Ilex Forest," he told her before she even managed to get out a 'hello.' He was uncharacteristically serious, his thin eyebrows pulled together and a frown on his face.

"Um, alright. What is it – ?"

"No time to explain!" Bugsy insisted firmly. "Just come, quickly!" Then the line went dead.

"How rude of him!" Sir Majestic Tail whinnied. "Not so much as a hello, or 'how are you!' You should not meet him if he is going to be so impolite!"

Fluffy smacked him for that comment. "Of course we're meeting him, introduction or not! Julia, let's go!" Julia herself looked confused and helpless as Fluffy ran on ahead with a protesting Sir Majestic Tail in tow. Shrugging at her, Flame grabbed Julia's hand and dragged her along after them. Within a few minutes, they reached the entrance to Ilex Forest.

"Come on, my lady Julia, is this not a hasty decision?" Sir Majestic Tail asked in concern, his eyes wide. "It could be a trap!"

"I highly doubt that, Sir," Julia said, clenching her fists. "If something bad's happened, it might not be a bad thing to be hasty."

"But think of how difficult it was to get through the first time!"

Suddenly, Flame was also feeling uncertain. What Leo and Julia's mom had said about it being dangerous echoed through her mind and she also held back a bit. "They might be right, Julia. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all."

"No, we need to do this. Don't be nervous; we'll all stick together, alright?" With that final comment, they ventured in.

Right away, Flame felt something was off. She remembered there was a bit of a straight path near the end, but now there was a fork in the path right away. Her teammates also noticed that, and even Fluffy looked concerned. Despite this, Julia led the way onwards and the three followed her. Wild Pokémon continuously jumped from the bushes and trees, attacking so relentlessly that Flame, Sir Majestic Tail, and Fluffy didn't wait for instructions to attack them. Even Julia shoved away the bug Pokémon that floated down from branches on strings. The PokéGear map, as before, was completely useless, so Julia didn't even bother to check it.

"Hey, Julia, do you see that?" Flame had been squinting at the path ahead when she noticed a glade with many items scattered about the grass.

"That's...odd," Julia replied, coming forwards to get a closer look. The instant she stepped into the clearing, at least a dozen wild Pokémon jumped out from hiding places in the trees and all charged at once. Shrieking, Julia ducked back behind Flame.

"Take this!" Flame roared, blasting out a massive, fiery Lava Plume attack that hit the entire first row of them, knocking them out right away.

"I told you it was a trap!" Sir Majestic Tail wailed, stomping on a Ledyba that tried to attack from behind. Shaking her head, Flame used Lava Plume again, killing the rest of them. What possessed them all to organize an attack like that with bait on the ground? In fact, why were they attacking at all? In the wild, Pokémon usually didn't just jump out and attack humans, much less other Pokémon.

_And that would be bad enough, but... _Flame fought a wave of terror as she realized the worst part of it_. I can't understand them! Me, a Pokémon! It's not like they're chittering away in a different language, but that they aren't even speaking to each other. It's just random sounds!_

"This is madness," Julia breathed, standing again. "Why are they acting like this?" She took the lead again and looked through the clearing for those items. Surprisingly, they weren't half-bad finds; a Max Elixer, a couple of Pokéballs, and some oran berries.

"And oran berries; where did they even come from?" Julia stood where she was for a moment, then collapsed to her knees. In panic, Flame rushed to her side and put her paws on her shoulders.

"What? What is it?" The girl had started sobbing with her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Oh, great and holy Arceus, is that what I think it is?!" Sir Majestic Tail galloped over to a corner of the glade and stopped in front of a web-covered bundle that was half-hidden behind a tree. Flame's eyes fell on it and she gasped.

"That's – !"

A human corpse, not a day old, bloodied and strung up. Its bag was torn up and looted for items. Next to it was a dead Pokémon – a Furret.

"Oh, Arceus, why?!" Flame whimpered, coming nearer. The human was a boy, whose skin was a faded shade of green, a sign of having been poisoned. "Julia, we have to take him back out. We can't just leave – " Her voice cracked and a lump rose in her throat. Julia came towards the trainer and sat down next to Flame, shaking.

"Flame...do Pokémon usually do this?"

"N-no. Something weird is going on. Something really bad. Oh, let's get out of here as soon as we can, please!" Nodding, Julia pulled out her PokéGear and took a picture of the corpses, to Flame's disgust.

"For Leo," Julia explained. "I don't know if anyone else is ever going to go through here. I hope not."

"We'll have to go back through to get back to Goldenrod City," Flame reminded, but was prevented from speaking further by Sir Majestic Tail's distraught cry.

"Fluffy! Fluffy is gone!"

_Oh, no, Arceus, no...!_

"Fluffy!" Julia yelled, standing up. "Fluffy, where are you?!" Tears filled her eyes again and she sobbed. "Gods...not Fluffy... Fluffy, can you hear us?!"

_That Flaaffy may have been a pain in the butt sometimes, but we were friends. Friends...!_

"Fluffy! You better not be dead, you hear me?!" Flame screeched, flames erupting on her neck and rump. "You aren't allowed to die on me!"

But it was hopeless. Fluffy was gone.

Julia shuddered, holding back more sobs, and came over to the boy to lift him up. She grunted with the effort, but he was bound so it was easier to carry him. Following her lead, Flame tried to pick up the Furret, who was much larger than her. All she could do was hold its upper body and drag the rest of it along.

"Are we not going to look for her?" Sir Majestic Tail whimpered, his ears pinned back. A Paras entered the clearing and he stomped on it furiously. "She is our teammate! We cannot just leave her here to fend for herself! She's only an electric type! She...she'll surely die!"

"There's nothing we can do, Fire-Butt," Flame growled. "If she's gone, she's gone."

"Are you trying to tell me that that is it? 'If she's gone, she's gone?!'" He had started to cry, which was the most unsettling sight Flame had ever seen. The self-absorbed, prim-and-proper Sir Majestic Tail, with tears rolling down his face and looking as though he wanted to collapse for Fluffy.

"Shut up!" Flame yelled at him. "We just need to get out of here, unless you want to die as well?!" The Ponyta hung his head, his flames burning low to the point of dying altogether, but he trudged along behind them, attacking any wild Pokémon for all three of them.

When they exited into broad daylight, their hearts crushed and their energy spent, Bugsy immediately ran over to them, looking panicked.

"Oh, shit! Julia! Flame! What happened?!" He grabbed the boy from Julia and shook his head. "Oh, no, Matthew? But he just passed through yesterday! And Sentry!" Bugsy looked now like he was going to cry. "Where's Fluffy? Where..." When there came no response, he looked away, blinking furiously. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you to..."

"Who cares?" Julia murmured, her shoulders shaking. "If Leo's right, then this is only the beginning. These things are going to happen everywhere, and all of us are going to die sooner or later..." Suddenly, she flung her arms around Bugsy and burst into tears again. "Oh, Arceus, Bugsy, I'm so scared!"

Flame dropped the Furret and looked up at Sir Majestic Tail with hopelessness in her eyes. The Ponyta's flames had dwindled to nothing and he looked like a hollow shell.

"Listen, Julia, the reason I've called you over here..." Bugsy took in a shaky breath, looking at Matthew. "I've been framed. I've been framed for Matthew's murder."

"What?!" Julia exclaimed, pulling away in shock. Bugsy nodded, biting his lip and shaking.

"And that you found him strung up like that – it's going to incriminate me more. I don't know what to do!" Julia looked disbelieving, bringing a hand to her mouth. It was odd, Flame realized, that they just so happened to find the guy who Bugsy was framed for the murder of.

"How did this happen? How could you have – ?"

"Come on; I'll explain everything at my hideaway," he interrupted, waving a hand and leading Julia off the path and into the brush away from Ilex Forest. Flame glanced at Sir Majestic Tail, who walked forwards resolutely, his eyes closed and tears still dripping from under his lids.

_How did this all happen? Ilex Forest is messed up, Fluffy is dead, and Bugsy was framed for murder? Why is this all happening to us?!_


	22. Chapter 22

**So, here's Chapter 22! The Wigglytuff-perfect apple mission, which I hadn't included earlier in the story where it usually occurs in the video game due to a plot shift, I realized I just couldn't leave out.**

**Anywho, enjoy and review!**

* * *

The one mystery dungeon that ensured that you never went hungry was, without question, Apple Woods. Especially this late in the year, the branches of every tree drooped from the weight of apples. As with many mystery dungeons, the only change from season to season was the weather. Even in the middle of the winter, apples were bountiful. Because nobody completely understood how mystery dungeons worked, no reasonable explanation could be drawn for this. Perhaps the trees were perpetually kept in the same state they were in before due to the time fluctuations.

Complicated explanations aside, Julia and Flame were able to stock up their bags on apples for later explorations while they looked for a lost Hoothoot.

"At least I like apples," Julia commented as she munched on one of the fruits. "Otherwise, I don't know how I'd be able to tolerate this kind of life."

"Yeah, I bet it works out for you flower-munchers," Flame sighed, trying to rip the stem from his apple, "but I want actual meat. I'll always be a little runt if I don't eat any real food."

"I've told you that you can go out hunting anytime you want." Julia shrugged at him, flicking an ear in his direction. "So stop moping and go out and catch something."

Flame turned away his head, cringing. "I...don't think I know how to hunt. Y'know, since I never got any practice or anything."

"Oh, that's gotta be easy."

"Yeah? If it's so easy, then why don't _you_ show me?"

Setting aside her apple, Julia fell to all fours and crouched with her rear in the air, her tail waving back and forth. She crept towards Flame, who realized too late that he was the one being preyed upon, and she pounced on him when he tried to back away. They tumbled for a while until they hit a tree and Julia fell away, laughing.

"Alright, I surrender! You caught me!" Flame smiled at her, brushing himself off. "You'd be a better hunter than me, I think."

"See? Easy!" Julia told him, going back for her apple. They continued on, and it suddenly hit Flame that he could have made more of it than he did. After all, they had been very close when she tackled him. Oh, no, what if she was waiting for him to make a move on her?!

_Or am I overthinking it? _Flame wondered._ Did she really only want to tease me? But what if –_

"There! Flame, see him?"

Julia's voice jolted Flame out of his thoughts and he spotted a Hoothoot wandering around, looking very confused. He and Julia ran over to him, and Flame pulled out his badge to transport the Pokémon away. Usually, this would be when he transported himself and his partner out of the dungeon, as well, but they still had the assignment of finding Wigglytuff's perfect apples. Though Chatot hadn't exactly been clear on what the consequences of not finding perfect apples for Wigglytuff were, Flame expected something bad would happen.

From time to time, wild Pokémon attacked Flame and Julia; however, the wild Pokémon were far less powerful and they were less of a threat and more of an annoyance. Not to mention they were far tamer here than in other dungeons. Flame could remember the first time he wandered into a mystery dungeon accidentally, and he had been in for quite a surprise when everything with legs – and even without legs – wanted him dead. He had fainted almost right away, but, luckily, his older sister had run into the forest after him and was able to carry him out before worse could happen to him.

Flame missed her, and the rest of his family. He lived with his parents and two sisters out at the edge of a mystery dungeon, and had left them with the claim that he would become the greatest explorer ever. It took him two moons before he met Julia, and there were many failed attempts at entering the guild before that. Diglett probably ended up assuming every Cyndaquil that ever tried to enter the guild would chicken out and run off.

"Hey, Flame, do you think that's the perfect apple tree?" Julia asked, nudging his shoulder. Flame shook himself from his daze and squinted ahead. In the middle of a clearing was a much older tree with large, bright apples adorning its branches.

"Oh, yeah. Without a doubt!" Flame ran in, peering up at the tree. "Wow, would'ja look at the size of those apples! Chatot will be pleased with these!"

"How are we even going to carry them?" Julia asked, circling the trunk. "They're massive! I'm pretty sure those will just tear right through our bags."

"In that case, we'll just have to transport them back with our explorer badges!" Flame told her.

"I have a better idea," spoke a new voice from above them. "How about you just leave without any of them?"

With a yelp, Flame jumped back from the tree as Skuntank dropped down, sneering at him and Julia. Beside her flew down Koffing and Zubat, looking equally smug.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Flame exclaimed, backing away further. Julia quickly joined him by his side and growled at them.

"Honestly, you're both so hostile," Skuntank chuckled. "You two are too tiny to carry very many, so why don't we take them for you? Guildmaster Wigglytuff will be so pleased."

Julia spat, "As if! You guys are only concerned about yourselves! Don't think I forgot Foggy Forest so quickly!"

Turning her back to them, Skuntank said, "Well, if that's the way you want it, we'll just take you out real quick. Koffing?"

Koffing flew by her side, taking in air in preparation of an attack. The fire on Flame's back ignited and he shot embers at them before they could do anything, but it was futile.

"Have a nice helping of our noxious gas combo!" Skuntank exclaimed, emitting a could of stench. At the same time, Koffing released fumes, resulting in the most horrific scent Flame had ever breathed. He was knocked out in an instant.

* * *

Julia woke to a Wurmple rummaging through her bag. She shot it with a Thundershock and stood up. The scent still lingered in the air, though not as horribly strong as before. Flame was sprawled on the ground a short ways away, struggling to get up.

"Arceus, that was nasty!" he coughed, standing wearily. "Why were they even here?"

When he and Julia looked up at the tree, the question was answered for him. The branches of the perfect apple tree were bare of perfect apples.

"Well, shit."

"What are we going to tell Chatot?" Julia asked, glancing at her partner. Did he ever look terrified, with his eyes wide like that. Chatot had warned of something bad happening if the Guildmaster didn't get his perfect apples, but Julia got the feeling Chatot was bluffing. Wigglytuff likely just got annoying in the evening or the next day or something and the second-in-command didn't want to have to deal with him. Knowing Wigglytuff, that could be punishment enough.

"Aw, crap, we're so screwed," Flame whimpered, shaking his head. "Chatot's gonna be pissed, no matter what we tell him." Sighing, he said, "Might as well just go back now and give him the bad news."

As expected, Chatot was not pleased. He was, in fact, far from pleased.

"You WHAT?! You failed to find ANY perfect apples?!"

"Look, it's not our fault!" Flame tried to protest, but Chatot was having none of it.

"No, no, no, it's your fault, one hundred percent! You two had a simple task: to go out and bring some perfect apples! No, in fact, just ONE would do! And what happens? You bring none!" He came very close to their faces, absolutely livid, and spoke in a quiet voice, "I've had a very bad day today, you know. I don't care how you failed or why you failed, but I've given this task to far younger students in the past who were far less experienced, and they could accomplish it with very little problem. You two are better than this. I'm ashamed of you both."

Somehow, his tone and that last sentence drove more guilt into Julia than if he had yelled at them until the sun set – not that that was too far off, anyways. She could have done so much more; she could have dodged the attack, or attacked back, like Flame had tried to do. It didn't even matter that it was a deliberate scheme done by Team Skull. They should have been able to get apples despite that.

Letting out a long, deep sigh, Chatot began to pace back and forth, his eyes screwed tightly shut. He was mumbling to himself under his breath, and he finally stopped pacing and faced them both.

"Well, if you two are unable to produce results, then I suppose I'll just have to go myself," he snapped at them. "If I'm not back by dark, then you two must be the ones to tell Wigglytuff that there are no perfect apples for him. And you will take the full force of his rage, understood?"

Flame and Julia both nodded quickly.

"Now, then, go make yourselves useful. And if Team Win cares to bother you, let them. I've been burdened with them all day." Scowling at them, Chatot flew up through the ladder tunnel and out of the guild.

"Did you guys get in trouble, too?" Lucky clambered up the ladder from below and ran to Julia and Flame, his eyes shining with amusement. "Did you call his beak pointy? Or did you insult his mother?"

"No, nothing like that," Julia told him, adoring his enthusiasm but wishing that he would stop bothering them, "we failed a mission to bring some perfect – "

"You failed a mission? Woooow, that sucks!"

"Lucky, stop pestering them," insisted Perry as he flew over to Perry's side. "They are our seniors here, so you have to respect them."

"They're seniors? But they don't look that old."

"No, Lucky, that's..."

The two of them continued arguing for a bit and Flame finally rolled his eyes and led Julia away. This late in the day, most of the trainees at the guild had already finished their exploring for the day and now lounged about in small groups, chatting. Julia and Flame decided to join Corphish and Bidoof, who were excitedly talking about something.

"What's up?" Flame asked as he walked over.

"Hey hey hey! We were just talking about the great Dusknoir!" Corphish faced them, darting his eyes from side to side. "You probably haven't heard about him – not yet, hey hey!"

"He's a mysterious do-gooder who's been going from town to town!" Bidoof contributed. "He sure does keep a low profile, by golly! We only just heard about him recently because when we were in town, Azurill and Marill were talking about their mom. She's completely healthy, it seems, because after the Drowzee incident, they found a Gabite Scale on their doorstep. And it was the great Dusknoir who gave it to them!"

"That's amazing!" Julia exclaimed, glancing at Flame. "I was wondering what happened to their mom; the first we saw of the boys after that, they were all joyful and they said their mum was getting better. I never thought to ask why, though."

Nodding, Corphish continued, "And that's not all! The great Dusknoir doesn't just do good things for people; he's also a solo explorer, hey hey!"

"Seriously?" asked Flame, completely absorbed.

"Yessiree! He must be very powerful, too!"

"What are you GUYS talking about?"

Flame and Julia glanced back and saw Loudred and Sunflora approaching them, also looking interested.

"Hey, guys," Flame greeted. "We're just talking about the great Dusknoir!"

"Great, my FOOT!" Loudred snapped, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. "I've heard rumours about him, and ALL I can think is, 'What a Mary SUE!'"

"Come on, Loudred!" Sunflora scowled at him in a way that suggested they were about to start fighting again. "You're just mad that he's at least ten times better than you! But then again, that can be said about anyone!"

"Hey hey hey," Corphish butted in, "before we all get up in each others' faces, can we just have a normal conversation – for once?"

Sunflora and Loudred looked at each other and both sighed, looking awkward.

"Sorry, Loudred," Sunflora mumbled, "that was uncalled for."

"Yes, it WAS," he replied, punching her arm lightly with a grin. Seeming to have made up, they stood attentively, facing Corphish and nodding for him to go on.

"What I've heard is that he plans on coming to Treasure Town soon!" Corphish continued. Everybody listening looked amazed and glanced about at each other excitedly. "He's been visiting guilds and important societal figures, according to a couple of Pelippers I talked with a while ago. That means there's a good chance that he'll visit us here!"

Julia knew she should have been more excited, but the mention of the Pelippers jolted her a bit. _Those two again? _she wondered, feeling a twinge of curiousity_. I know that Pelippers usually carry mail around, but do they really get this involved? They flew us to Mount Bristle and Wigglytuff to Foggy Forest, plus they helped us fight and they know about Dusknoir?_

"Two Pelippers, right?" Julia asked aloud. Corphish nodded at her, cocking his head slightly.

"Is there something odd about that?"

"No – well, not exactly." Suddenly, Julia realized that she was overthinking it too much. "Sorry; never mind." Flame was also giving her an odd look, and Julia's face turned a light shade of red.

"This Dusknoir stuff is exciting!" Bidoof exclaimed, smiling. "Corphish, you're such a wealth of knowledge!"

Corphish held his head up, putting a claw to his chest. "Thank you, Bidoof. I pride myself in being an active seeker of uncommon knowledge – and conspiracy theories, of course."

Sighing, Loudred muttered, "You're full of shit, man." Corphish shot him a sharp look and Sunflora shoved him, though there wasn't enough weight behind it to even move him. "What? I'm not allowed to VOICE my opinion?"

"Sure you can say what's on your mind, but if it's rude, keep it to yourself!" Bidoof chided him.

"WHATEVER," Loudred huffed. "If you need me, I'LL be at my post." With that, he turned and left again.

"He's so rude," Sunflora squealed after him, "he makes me go 'eek!'" Loudred seemed to catch that and he turned to glare at her and stick his tongue out before clambering down the ladder. "Good riddance!"

_Seriously, do those two do anything besides argue? _Julia wondered, shaking her head_. Anyways, this Dusknoir business seems pretty interesting. I might like to meet him; if he's really so well-travelled, there's a chance he might know about my ability – or better yet, where the humans live around here!_

"Dinner's ready!" Chimecho called out from downstairs, ringing the dinner bell. Relieved to have a temporary distraction, Julia followed her friends downstairs to dinner.

* * *

It wasn't long after dinner that she realized that there was another, more serious distraction for her and Flame. Wigglytuff called them into his office; cheerfully, of course, but everyone had seen that he hadn't had his usual perfect apple at dinner and Julia feared what was coming. Chatot had yet to return, and Julia began to suspect that Skuntank might have had something to do with it. _Oh, please let Chatot be okay!_

"So, friendly friends, Chatot said that you two went out to collect some perfect apples for me?" Wigglytuff began, smiling pleasantly. If he had been angry, it would have been a less terrifying situation. Because it was his normal expression, Julia had no way of telling what was going through his head.

"Erm, that's right," Flame replied, ducking his head.

"And did you bring any for me?"

This time, Julia replied when Flame hesitated to speak. "I'm really sorry, Wiggly – er, Guildmaster, but we failed. We couldn't bring back any perfect apples. Please don't be upset with us!"

Wigglytuff giggled and a sense of relief flooded through Julia when he said, "Why would I be upset? Everybody messes up sometimes! I'm not mad at you!" Then he focussed his full attention on them in a slightly different way and added, "I'll just have one of the other perfect apples in storage!"

Julia and Flame exchanged a glance, and her heart sank again. There _were_ no perfect apples in storage for him to eat.

"Actually, that's the thing," Julia said awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Chatot said there aren't any perfect apples in the storage. That's why he sent us out to collect some." Laughing nervously, she delivered the final verdict. "So, I guess you'll have to wait until someone can get perfect apples for you tomorrow."

"Oh." That was all Wigglytuff could say, his smile becoming faint. His long ears drooped a little, then tears filled his eyes and he began to tremble. As he did, the ground beneath their paws started to shake as well, and Julia and Flame were thrown off balance.

"Is he going to start crying?!" Julia gasped, staring at Flame in horror. He only looked back with his eyes wide and full of panic. The ground shook more violently, causing one of the torches to fall over and catch the carpet on fire and the tapestry behind Wigglytuff to drop. The Guildmaster pulled his ears down over his face and whimpered.

"Yoom..."

_Oh, no, he's going to blast us with his Hyper Voice! _Julia realized, covering her face with her paws_. And this is going to be a big one!_

"YOOM..."

"Cover your ears!" Flame yelled, though his voice was all but drowned out by the rumbling and banging.

"YOOM – "

"Wigglytuff, stop!"

The moment that voice pierced through above the noise, everything ceased. The shaking, the rumbling, and Wigglytuff's rage. Julia dared to look up and saw Wigglytuff staring at the doorway with tears still in his eyes. Craning her head to look at what was there, Julia let out a relieved sigh.

"Honestly, sir, you should have waited for me," Chatot said plainly, hopping forwards with a perfect apple nestled on his back. "You know I wouldn't let you go without your perfect apple." He deposited the apple at Wigglytuff's feet, who joyfully picked it up and danced around with it in blissful glee. Rearranging his wings on his back, Chatot turned to the two still-trembling apprentices and gave them a look.

"Well, I believe you've learned your lesson, now haven't you?"

Julia and Flame exchanged a glance and nodded furiously.

"As much of a pain it was to go out and find the perfect apple trees, I couldn't very well just leave the two of you to face Wigglytuff's temper..." Then, in a quiet voice, he added, "Tantrum." He winked at their shocked faces, then resumed his stern expression and shooed them with his wings. "Now, off to bed. We've all had a trying day, I'm certain. Go on, now."

Without further hesitation, Julia and Flame picked themselves up off the ground and scrambled out of the office. Loudred, who still stood at his post by the hole in the ground, chuckled at them and grinned, not even looking the slightest bit concerned about that miniature earthquake.

Finally, Julia and her partner collapsed onto their beds, breathing heavily.

"That nearly gave me a heart attack!" Flame panted out. "And here we were thinking that Chatot was the one to make sure we stayed on the good side of!"

"You're not kidding," Julia agreed. "Man, that's the last time we fail a mission like that!"

"If we ever get a second chance," Flame reminded sombrely. "I betcha anything that Chatot's gonna hold that against us forever."

"At least we got out without bleeding eardrums."

"Heh, yeah."

They turned on their sides to smile at each other and they both giggled.

"So, Julia, I was wondering...do you want to push our beds together?" Julia stared at him, blushing despite herself. He was also slightly red-faced, but he looked hopeful.

"Yeah, sure," Julia replied, getting up. "It's getting cold at night, anyways. I could use a little extra warmth." They proceeded to push the straw beds towards each other until they were touching, then lay back down in them next to each other. The memory of when, right before the expedition, Flame had come into Julia's bed returned to her and she reached out and touched his paw. He blinked back up at her, then took her paws between his.

Curling inwards a little, Julia closed her eyes touched her nose to his. A few minutes later, they were both asleep.

* * *

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised at this point. Waking up is still MANDATORY, mind you."

Julia shut her eyes tightly, wishing that she could go back to sleep but knowing that if she did, she would get in big trouble. With that thought in her mind, she opened her eyes to see Flame sitting up and looking incredibly embarrassed.

"Don't be like THAT, Flame," Loudred laughed, "I'm not a GOSSIP. However, if you DON'T start waking up on your OWN, everyone's going to find out."

"Find out what?" Julia mumbled, standing to stretch and looking back at Loudred in slight confusion. "We haven't done anything. Not really, anyways."

"Oh my gosh, were you two sleeping together? That's so cute!"

That was Sunflora, who now peeked out from behind Loudred with her hands on her face.

"Oi, Sunflora, don't bug them," Loudred began, but Sunflora's squealing had brought Bidoof, Diglett, Chimecho, Lucky, Perry, and even Croagunk into the doorway to take a look.

Now Julia was embarrassed.

"Wow, you're right, Sunflora!" Diglett exclaimed, glancing up at her. "They've pushed their beds together and everything!"

"Hey hey hey, wasn't I the first one to say that there was something going on between those two?" Corphish called out indignantly from the other room.

"Yeah, but I'd have to see it to believe it, by golly!"

"Well, ain't that a surprising development, meh-heh-heh..."

Even Lucky squeaked, "Wooow, are you guys a couple or something?"

"For once, Lucky, you seem to be correct."

"You GUYS all need to clear OUT of here! This isn't that big a DEAL!"

"Oh, sure it is!" Sunflora told him, glaring crossly. "But you aren't romantic enough to realize that!"

"It's precisely BECAUSE I know a bit about ROMANCE that I'm clearing you all out!"

"You wouldn't know romance if it came and made out with your ass!"

"That's not romantic at ALL!"

"That's enough!" Chatot's voice shrilled from outside. "Everybody, get out here this instant or there will be severe consequences!" He was using that tone of voice, so everyone shot out of there like they had been popped from a Rhyperior's palm. Trying to compose herself a little bit, Julia scrambled out after them, Flame trailing along behind her.

Everybody assembled in front of Chatot and stared straight ahead. It was lucky, in that way, that Julia and Flame stood near the back, since if anyone had wanted to stare at them, they would have to turn their heads back, which would be too obvious. Only Lucky and Perry stood further back than they, and Julia could already feel one Riolu's gaze piercing the back of her head.

"Now, I feel the need to clarify this before we begin the morning address," Chatot told them all, looking at each in turn. "While relationships are not discouraged at the guild, they are not to be actively advertised, understood?" He glared at Julia and Flame, who stared at each other in bewilderment.

"We weren't – "

"Then why was everyone gathered around your door? And do not interrupt me! Furthermore," Chatot resumed, flapping his wings to redirect the attention, "anyone caught or reported harassing or making fun of anyone because of a relationship or presumed relationship will be severely punished." Although it wasn't very visible, Julia noticed Chatot wince as he said that last part, before he continued, "Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the guild replied as one.

Straightening his wings, Chatot cleared his voice and announced, "As well, as you all have likely noticed by now, we have two new guild members – Lucky and Perry of Team Win. Please treat them with respect!"

The rest of the morning address proceeded as usual, with Wigglytuff waking up halfway through the chant and joining in in such a singsong voice that half the guild members fell asleep, Julia included. She awoke to Croagunk using Water Gun at her face before he loped off back to his station in the corner of the room, where he operated an odd cauldron.

"Wow, we actually got introduced to the guild!" Lucky was telling Perry happily, dancing about in a circle. "And we'll get to go on a mission now, right, Chatot?"

The parrot Pokémon sighed and nodded, hopping towards the ladder. "Follow me, you two. Let's hope that you don't mess up before even choosing an assignment." He gave Perry a sharp look at that, then winced and put a wing on the Spearow's back gently. "Come along."

They vanished up the ladder, and Julia noticed that Perry looked a little bit reassured at Chatot's unexpectedly warm gesture. The peace was once again disturbed when Loudred suddenly yelled, "Come ON, Diglett, WHO is it?!"

Diglett's voice faintly came up from under the hole that Loudred stood by, sounding exasperated.

"I just said, I can't identify the footprint!"

"Oh, for FUCK'S sake, DIGLETT! This ISN'T why you're the SENTRY! You CAN'T be telling me that you CAN'T identify the BLOODY footprint!"

"Hold on, Loudred, he's trying to – "

"HONESTLY, if you KEEP fucking UP like this, we'll DROP you as a SENTRY! How the HELL did you get HIRED, anyways, with THIS kind of track record?!"

"Loudred, listen to me!" Loudred quit his ear-splitting yelling and stepped back, crossing his arms. "This guy says his name is Dusknoir, and he wants to speak with the Guildmaster!"

"Dusknoir?!" Sunflora exclaimed, running over. "As in, the great Dusknoir?!"

"What OTHER Dusknoirs are there?" Loudred retorted, but he was also wide-eyed.

"Eek!" Sunflora exclaimed excitedly, fainting dramatically.

Scowling, Loudred caught her, then yelled down the hole, "Alright, let him in!" Julia stared at Flame, and he looked back at her with an expression of equal excitement to Sunflora's. The great Dusknoir was going to pay them a visit!


	23. Chapter 23

**I know I've said it before, but in order for the two stories to fit together, the odd-numbered chapters will be a bit shorter now. Then again, that's a good thing. If they were the usual length, it would take so much longer to read every chapter and the two-chapters-a-week schedule would be too difficult for me.**

**Anyways, enjoy and flame! Er, review, though flames are not discouraged either. The more criticism, the better for me!**

* * *

"Where are we going, Bugsy?"

The violet-haired boy was pushing through overgrown bushes and between leafy trees, away from the town and Ilex Forest, and Julia could do little more than blindly follow him. Bugsy was carrying the corpse of Matthew in his arms, though that didn't slow him down much.

_I still can't believe someone framed him for murder!_ she thought, glancing back to make sure Flame and Sir Majestic Tail were following. The area would have long been ablaze had Sir Majestic Tail not extinguished his flames. _And Fluffy. She's gone now._ That Bugsy was framed was far easier to swallow when compared to the fact that Fluffy had vanished in Ilex Forest. Julia shut her eyes and tried to force herself not to think of the Flaaffy, then sped up a little to catch up with Bugsy.

"Here we are," he said, coming to a halt. Julia stopped beside him and sharply inhaled. Before them was an old, fat tree that held a large wooden orb, which Julia supposed to be a fort of sorts. She looked to Bugsy, about to comment on it, when she noticed that tears were dripping down his face and his fists were clenched.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He quickly wiped his face with the back of his wrist, though he couldn't stop crying.

"I – I'm just thinking about everything – Matthew, Fluffy, everything – and...and, y'know..."

"Yeah, I get it," Julia said, letting out a sigh. "This is a pretty messed-up situation. In fact, it's more than messed-up – this is completely fucked-up."

_And Mount Coronet, in the far-away Sinnoh region, too? Imagine how many thrill-seekers lost their lives there!_

Attempting an emotionless smile, Bugsy shook his head and lead them around the side of the wooden fort to where there was a stepladder leading to an opening on the fort. He gestured with an arm for Julia to go first and she walked up the ladder with Flame close at her heels.

Suddenly, Flame grabbed her hand and pulled her back so violently that they both fell to the ground. Before Julia could even open her mouth to ask what the heck she was doing, laughter emanated from the wooden orb and a purple-dressed figure leapt out.

"Clever girl, Flame. Too bad you didn't see it coming sooner."

It was Jerome, from Team Fury. From the fort stepped a dark-skinned girl with white hair, whose name Julia couldn't remember. That didn't matter right now. Julia turned her head to look at Bugsy in shock, and she realized why he was really crying.

"Bugsy, why?" she called out, getting to her feet. The boy only shook his head, turning his face away from them.

"You filthy traitor!" Flame spat, a growl rising in her throat. "You led us away from Azalea town – from Goldenrod, in fact – and handed us over to Team Fury?!"

"That doesn't matter anymore," Jerome told her, stepping towards Julia with a thin smile on his face. "Julia, I do hope that you will really make this final battle difficult for me."

Taking a step away, Julia absorbed what he said and her eyes grew wide. "Final...battle?"

"Yes," Jerome said as his smile became broader and more maniacal, "this is your last battle. You won't walk out of here alive."

Growling, Flame ignited and shot a Lava Plume at Jerome, sending him backwards, flailing. The Team Fury girl rolled her eyes and patted Jerome's shoulder.

"I got this one, _babe_. You just sit tight and let me deal with this bitch."

"Like hell! I didn't bring you along to babysit me!" With that, Jerome raised and arm and brought it down quickly in Julia's direction. A purple blade of psychic energy shot at her and struck her squarely across the chest. The force of the attack made her fall back against a tree, gasping for air.

With a snarl, Flame used Lava Plume again, striking both the girl and Jerome with as much force as she could muster. Sir Majestic Tail's mane and tail reignited and he charged the girl before spinning around and kicking her forcefully with both of his back hooves before being flung to the side by Jerome.

Getting up shakily, Julia leaned against the tree, watching helplessly as Flame was also tossed by Psychic. There had to be something she could do. With Fluffy gone, their only electric type was Lanturn, but battling outside of water would make him about as useless as a Magikarp. And Julia couldn't use a rock again, nor could she try to fight – she had no martial arts training and that girl far outmatched her.

_No, there is something I can do. I'm an electric type, right? Shouldn't I be able to attack?_ The problem was, she had no idea how to. The only time she'd used it was by accident, though she had always been a problem with electricity around her house. Then again, so was her whole family, and they never used attacks – at least, not to Julia's knowledge.

"Well, it seems I was mistaken," Jerome laughed, approaching Julia slowly. "It seems you really have no idea how to fight. That's good; now Scorch won't be pissed that I killed off a possible member."

"Scorch?" repeated Julia, trying to buy herself some time.

Grinning, Jerome replied, "Oh, one of the admins. She's the one with fire abilities. Twisted woman, I tell ya." He held out a hand and curled his fingers in a little. It felt as though a hand was gripping Julia's neck lightly, then tighter, and she was pulled off her feet a little. Julia grasped at her neck, though she knew it was useless; she couldn't take a breath in and Jerome could crush her throat any second. Behind him was that girl, who folded her arms and chuckled.

"Well, I suppose you did me no harm, really," Jerome said, "so you deserve to die quickly. It was – "

"Hey, Jerome!" Flame interrupted, getting up on her hind paws from where she had been flung. "I killed her! I killed Scorch!"

It was as if Jerome had been shot. His eyes became wide and he dropped Julia, who panted hard. Slowly, Jerome turned his head to look at Flame, who stood defiantly but quivering.

"You liar," he growled venomously, "you didn't kill her. Not Scorch."

Flame laughed forcefully at him and the girl, who also looked bewildered. "Yep. I took Julia's Lanturn and blasted the shit out of her. You should have seen the way she was screaming! 'Oh, no, I'm melting!' What a total weakling!"

_She's digging her grave,_ Julia realized in horror. Flame was hiding terror under her gloating expression, and Jerome was walking towards her slowly, rage taking him over. Any second now, he was going to snap and strangle Flame – or worse. Some instincts Julia never knew she had kicked in and she ran at Jerome from behind while his mind was distracted, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him to the ground. A bright light suddenly blinded her and she shut her eyes.

Then Jerome started screaming.

Julia forced herself to open her eyes and she jumped to her feet, nearly stumbling back to the ground. Sparks were flying off her hands, and an odd energy coursed through her body. Her eyes locked with Flame's and she couldn't help but laugh a little. She had just used an attack. A real attack.

"Behind you!" Flame cried out, leaping forwards. Something collided with the middle of Julia's back and she fell to the ground, pain exploding through her back from the point of impact. Flame hurtled over her and struck the girl, who had been the one who punched Julia, but was grabbed by one of her legs and smashed against the ground.

"Flame!" Getting to her feet quickly, Julia tried to use an attack, but what she had felt a few seconds ago was gone and she couldn't figure out how to use that electricity again. With a smirk, the girl lifted a leg and struck Julia in the stomach. She only faintly felt the ground against her side beneath the pain from the kick and she coughed violently, spitting up blood. A foot rested on the side of her head, then came up to crush her skull on the way down.

But that crushing blow never came. The girl shrieked in pain and dropped to the ground next to Julia, writhing as floating leaves sliced open her skin. Vines burst from the ground and wrapped around her so tightly that she couldn't even struggle against them. A few seconds later, a hand came down to Julia and she grasped it with both hands.

Bugsy pulled her up to her feet and put his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. For a moment, Julia held on, but she remembered Flame and quickly let go to run to her. The Quilava lay on the ground with one of her hind legs badly twisted and blood pooling on the grass beneath her, but she was still shaking.

"Oh, Flame," Julia whispered, putting her arms around her and holding her gently. "Just hang on, okay?" Small claws dug into the back of Julia's neck and Flame began to whimper.

"My leg," Flame hissed, gripping Julia tighter, "Arceus help me, it hurts so bad, _gods_!" Then she could no longer speak and she wailed, shuddering violently in Julia's arms. The girl stroked the back of her neck but felt panicked as well. The bleeding was getting worse and Flame's claws were starting to hurt her.

"Hang on, it's gonna be alright, just let me grab your Pokéball," Julia whispered to her. Flame could only reply with another choked cry, her heart beating rapidly against Julia's chest. After groping around in her bag for a few seconds and finding nothing, Julia remembered in horror that Flame's Pokéball was back in her room...in the Goldenrod city Pokémon Centre.

"Oh, _shit_!" she blurted out, covering her mouth with her hand. "It's not...it's at..."

"Here, let me." Bugsy crouched in front of Flame and Julia and held out his arms. Biting her lip, Julia handed her Pokémon to Bugsy, who then stood up and walked into a patch of sunlight. A moment passed, then Flame began to glow with a soft green light. When the light faded, her leg was normal again and the bleeding had stopped.

Bugsy turned to smile half-heartedly at Julia, then set Flame down to let her run into Julia's arms and squeeze her tightly.

"How did you...?"

"Fluffy may have disagreed with me, and grass types in general, but Synthesis is the single most useful move I know." Putting his hands in his pockets and closing his eyes, he shook his head with a sigh. "I...I can't even put into words how sorry I am. It's just – "

"You're a fool."

Julia turned and saw, to her horror, that Jerome was getting up again, a victorious smile on his face.

"You thought I'd actually spare her life if you brought Julia and her friends to me? Well..." He pushed his toe against the Team Fury girl's face absently, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "You were wrong. She's been released into Ilex Forest." With that, he turned and walked away, laughing hysterically.

"No...oh no, oh no, no..." Bugsy collapsed, an expression of absolute defeat on his face. "LILY!"

Letting go of Flame, Julia asked cautiously, "Lily? Who's that?"

"My..." The boy choked on his words, his body shaking. "She's my little sister." He swallowed hard, and tears began to drip from his face again. "My only little sister. She's six years old. Oh, great Arceus..." He got to his feet and looked at Julia with the most hopeless expression she had ever seen. "Jerome said...that they wouldn't touch her if...if I brought you to them... I haven't actually been framed for murder; I just thought of it when I saw you bring in Matt, and now... She's going to die in Ilex Forest. If Fluffy couldn't...couldn't..."

He was unable to say more, but Julia understood. "Then we have to go and find her," she told him fiercely. "I won't let anyone else die in that place." She looked past Bugsy, at where Sir Majestic Tail was. He was awake, but it was clear that it wasn't physical injuries that were crippling him.

_Whether he'll admit it or not, he really did like Fluffy,_ she thought, walking over to him. "Are you alright, Sir?"

"My lady..." He turned his head away, his mane burning low. "I am truly suffering. Before I met you, I was a champion – trained by a champion, trained to be a champion; in fact, Champion was my original name. But, by choosing my own new name and becoming Sir Majestic Tail...I found something else. I found...companions...and I cannot bear to be parted with her..." He broke off, and his eyes became misty. "We must find her, and Lily, at all costs."

_He thinks Fluffy's still alive? _Julia wondered._ No – he knows that she was killed, but he wants to believe that that's not true. _Even as Sir Majestic Tail stood up, extinguishing his flames to go back through the bushes, he bowed his head in defeat and his hooves dragged. Flame looked from him to Julia, then took Julia's hand, leaning against her leg tiredly.

"I am so done with all this shit," she murmured. "All these people dying, all of this mystery, and I'd really like to know just who the _hell_ you and I are."

_Same here, Flame. _

"Alright, Bugsy, let's go," Julia said, nodding to the boy. "Lead us to Ilex Forest. We're finding your sister."

* * *

"Ow, my head..."

Fluffy sat up, rubbing her forehead with both paws, then looked around. She appeared to be under a canopy of leaves – almost like a den, she reflected. How she got there, she had no idea.

All I remember is seeing something shiny on the ground, then getting attacked by a bunch of Pokémon in one of those traps set up by them... Filthy little monsters. I'll have to bring Sir Majestic Tail with me next time. And I never did find out what that shiny thing was!

"Oh, you're awake!"

An unfamiliar voice came from elsewhere in the den-ish place and a Sunflora came walking in. Fluffy frowned at her, then realized something with a start.

"Wait a second! You're that same Sunflora that attacked Julia, aren't you?" Fluffy hopped to her paws and took a defensive stance. "What are you doing here? What am I doing here?!"

"Eek! Calm down, calm down!" Sunflora waved at Fluffy with her leaf-arms, looking around. "Look, I found you knocked out in a monster house, so I came and got you out of there! It's dangerous being in a mystery dungeon alone!"

Fluffy stared at her for a second, then asked, "What the HELL are you talking about?!"

"Okay, how do I explain this?" Sunflora shook her head, clearly exasperated. "Whatever. All you need to know is that this forest has been turned into a mystery dungeon, and that I brought you here for a reason. I need to ask a favour of you."

Still wary, Fluffy replied, "What is it?"

"I'd like you...to take me to Julia and Flame."

_What a weird Sunflora! At the very least, she can talk normally. Or does that make her more dangerous?_

"Like hell I'm taking you to my trainer!" Fluffy bleated furiously. "Just who do you think you are to ask me something like that?! Thanks for rescuing me, and all, but there's no way I'm taking a weirdo like you to her! What kind of Pokémon would I be?"

With that, Fluffy ran from the den-ish place, which turned out to be a bush, and dashed away through Ilex Forest, Sunflora trying in vain to call after her.

_Hang on, Julia, Flame! I'm going to find you guys again! And Sir Majestic Tail, you'd better not die or do anything stupid before I get to you!_

* * *

**Yeah, you all knew Fluffy wasn't dead. Smart, smart readers! No, I won't be killing off any important characters...yet...**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello, y'all! Welcome to Chapter 24! I realized that I haven't really shown off the personalities of the rest of the guild members, and so I hope this chapter will fix that a bit.**

**Anyways, happy reading! Leave a review if you liked it! And do enjoy!**

* * *

It was hard for the guild members and non-guild teams alike to look disinterested in Dusknoir's visit. Both Wigglytuff and Chatot came to greet him on the lower floor and they were conversing about the recent expedition. The two kept their promise to Uxie and let Dusknoir know that they found nothing; even though this was nothing too interesting, Flame would notice a head peeking down the ladder tunnel from above from time to time, only to quickly pull away when Chatot glanced up with a frown. He couldn't help but wonder what the heck Lucky and Perry were doing. Doubtless, if they were still in the guild, they would have already interrupted the conversation numerous times by now. Perhaps they went off on their assignment already.

"That's truly a shame," Dusknoir was saying to Wigglytuff, with his one eye closed. "I had been hoping that you discovered something. From what I've heard, this is a very highly-esteemed guild that usually brings back a good deal of treasure from its expeditions."

"Sorry about that," Wigglytuff told him cheerfully, "but we found nothing this time around."

"Of course not. I would hate to seem too nosy."

Flame was watching the conversation out of the corner of his eye and he guessed that Julia was likely doing the same. They had quickly made their way over to Croagunk's corner of the room when Dusknoir came down so they could listen in discreetly. Croagunk himself seemed slightly bored by the whole thing, and he looked pretty close to shooing them away. Hoping to be able to justify sticking around a while longer, Flame decided to make some conversation with Croagunk.

"So, um, I've been wondering," he began, "what's up with this cauldron? I mean, you don't really go on expeditions in favour of chilling here with this cauldron. Does it do something interesting?"

With a sigh, Croagunk replied, "This here is called a swap cauldron. You see, you put in an item and it can swap the item..."

Flame tuned him out.

"So, you plan on staying in Treasure Town for a few days?" Chatot was asking, smiling pleasantly at Dusknoir.

"Indeed. While this town may be small, everyone here appears to be very friendly and open, from what I have seen. I shall take my leave now, but I do hope to see you in the future."

"Of course, of course!" Wigglytuff exclaimed joyfully. "It's been a pleasure meeting you!"

"He's awfully friendly, don't you think?" Julia whispered to Flame.

"Yes," Croagunk butted in, "but ain't that just how our Guildmaster is? Meh-heh-heh..." The three watched as Dusknoir, being a ghost type, floated up the ladder and out of sight. Chatot glanced back and frowned at everyone.

"Now, I know that all of you will be eager to ask Dusknoir questions, being that he is an accomplished explorer, but do give him some space. Don't bother him too much." He focussed his attention on Loudred, who was trying to look like he hadn't also been listening in on Chatot and Wigglytuff's conversation with Dusknoir. "Loudred, when Team Win comes back in, do relay that information to them, will you?" Loudred quickly nodded, then looked disinterested again. Ruffling his feathers, Chatot hopped up the ladder while Wigglytuff bounced away to his office again.

_Doesn't Wigglytuff ever go out of the guild? _Flame wondered, not for the first time_. We never see him on any of our assignments, and he never goes into town. I don't know whether to be weirded-out or to pity him._

"Hey, if both of y'all ain't going to do any swapping, then you'd better scram," Croagunk snapped at Julia and Flame, finally fed up with them. The pair nodded and climbed up the ladder to grab some assignments. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful; they ran into one monster house at Amp Plains, but the Pokémon were low-levelled enough for Flame and Julia not to have much trouble knocking them all out. When they returned back in the early evening, Dusknoir was nowhere to be seen around Treasure Town, though Sunflora claimed to have seen him.

"Oh my gosh, I actually talked to the great Dusknoir!" They were sitting in Loudred's, Bidoof's, and Corphish's shared room to play truth or dare late at night, but Sunflora cut in before Loudred could even ask Bidoof whether he wanted a truth or a dare.

"Whatever, Sunflora," Loudred muttered, keeping his voice low. "Was he everything you'd ever imagined?"

"Yes, and more! Eek! He was so charming, and he knows so much!" She fanned herself with a hand, grinning slyly at Loudred. "I could have just talked for hours and hours, that's how amazing he was!"

He glared back at her, but didn't dare argue with her – when he got riled up, he began to positively scream, and Chatot couldn't know they were doing this after guild hours. Already, Bidoof was uncertain about the whole thing, and Flame had to side with him on that. If they were caught, they'd get into a load of trouble. At least Bidoof had the excuse that he had nothing to do with it, but Flame was out of his own room, so he had to be a voluntary participant.

"Hey hey hey! Can we just get on with the game?" Corphish asked, snapping his claws to bring everyone to attention. Sunflora turned her head to stick out her tongue at him. "Careful, or I'll snip your tongue off, hey hey!"

"You sound too much like Chatot," Sunflora said, crossing her arms. "Except you're more dangerous." That got a snicker out of everyone but Corphish, who just seemed to want to play the game.

"Pull that stick outta your arse," Loudred chuckled. "Bidoof, truth or dare?"

"Oof, I'm first? In that case, I think I'll stick with truth, thank you very much!"

Loudred thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

"Golly, what a first question! Of course not!" Bidoof's face reddened and he turned his head away, before asking, "Chimecho, truth or dare?"

"Truth," she chimed in response.

"Uh, for how long have you been at the guild?"

That was a question most guild members wanted to know but had never asked outright. It wasn't a little-known fact that Chimecho was the oldest member at the guild, being that she was the head cook, dealt with teams and their members, and that she knew the most about the guild and the Guildmaster.

"Oh, I've been here since the guild first started," she replied, which got a too-loud 'What?!' out of most of the Pokémon there. "I was a Chingling then, and Team Razor Wind was still a starting out team. Mind you, they haven't gotten very far."

That stung Flame a little; as a kid, and even now, he looked up to Team Razor Wind, a great team led by Zangoose, who had lived in the area when he was younger. Even though most folks frowned upon the team for not always sticking to the rules, Flame knew that Zangoose, who used to take time out of his vacation days to take Flame on little exploration trips, never did anything malicious to anyone. He was just a free-spirited risk-taker.

"If I remember correctly, that was about five years ago."

"What?!"

"Keep your voices down!" Chimecho glared at everyone, flicking her steel tail in annoyance. "We might have closed the door, but Chatot might still be able to hear us!"

Loudred raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Chatot sleeps way up on the top rung of the ladder that leads out of the guild. It would be Wigglytuff I'd worry about."

"Chatot still sleeps up there? Huh. That I didn't know. But even if Wigglytuff heard us, I doubt he'd mind. He was a rule-breaker, too."

"Really?" Bidoof asked excitedly. "Golly, that's surprising! What else can you tell us about Wigglytuff?"

Chimecho shook her head at him teasingly. "Oh, no, you've already asked me my question, and I answered it. If it comes around to your turn, you can ask me that question, if you'd like. Now, Loudred, truth or – "

"I ALWAYS choose dare, Chimecho! You ought to know that by now!"

"I do. I still ask, though." In such a small space, and due to it being past lights-out time, dares were very limited. The one time Flame played before, it was mostly kissing dares or doing gross things. "Alright, I dare you to say five nice things about Sunflora."

That question seemed to catch Loudred off-guard and his face turned a bit red. Sunflora looked at him in interest, waiting for what he would say to that.

"Er, well, alright, but that's a BIT of a wasted dare." Smiling, Chimecho nodded for him to go on. With an uncomfortable expression on his face, Loudred listed off, "Sunflora is...nice, smart, pretty...erm... Do I really have to list FIVE?"

Sunflora elbowed him, sneering. "Yes, you do. Come on, you know what else I've got going for me."

"Knock it OFF, you bugger," he snapped, pushing her arm away. "I said smart, right? I suppose you're also powerful, and...loyal?"

She stared at him for a second, then shook out her head and crossed her arms. "I'll take it. I am pretty tough, after all."

"Yeesh," Loudred muttered. "Flame, how about you? Truth or dare?"

_I know I'm going to sound like a wimp if I pick truth, but dares are always way more embarrassing!_

"Truth," he replied, wincing at the sighs that followed.

"Alright, I've a good one," Loudred said. "How about...how did you meet Julia?" Flame didn't really think that was too much of a popular question until everyone turned and turned their drilling gazes on Flame. He exchanged a glance with Julia, who just shrugged.

"I thought I already told you guys how we met, but maybe it never came up. I was walking on the beach when I saw her just lying in the sand. She had amnesia and all she could remember was her name." And the fact that she was a human before.

"What?!" Sunflora stared at him disbelievingly. "Julia has amnesia? I never knew that!"

"That's because you're odd, hey hey! Everybody knows that she can't remember anything about her past!"

"I was also unaware," Croagunk put in, causing everyone to gasp.

"Where did YOU come from?!" Loudred exclaimed before remembering to lower his voice. Croagunk simply shrugged, looking at him dully from under his eyelids.

"I've been here the whole time, ya leaves-fer-brains."

Julia leaned in to Flame and hissed, "Is it just me, or does he always just pop up out of nowhere?" Flame shrugged in response. Nobody really knew what Croagunk's deal was.

"So, are you also playing?" Flame asked cautiously, watching Croagunk suspiciously.

"Why not? Go on, shoot me a question. That is, I pick truth."

This was a tough one, but Bidoof had mentioned something to Flame a few days ago that he could use. "Why do you come into this room to sleep at night?"

"Eek! He does?!"

Nonchalant about the looks of disgust that were thrown at him, Croagunk replied simply, "It's too cold outside. Ya'll have seen the weather lately? Well, it ain't getting any warmer right now, and it's just too much fer me. Just you watch," he added when they gave him doubtful looks, "Chatot's gonna stop sleepin' on the top rung of the ladder soon, too. He has no choice in the winter but to sleep in Wigglytuff's room."

It occurred to Flame that Wigglytuff's sleeping quarters were a mystery. After all, he couldn't sleep in his office; there were no beds. And there couldn't be a room behind the tapestry, either; the guild was, after all, built on the side of a cliff. The only options would be that his room was above or below, and that didn't make much sense, or that it was elsewhere.

The question was on his mouth, but Croagunk noticed it and stopped him.

"Meh-heh-heh, I've answered the question, and that's all I'm answering for now. Bidoof, truth...or dare?"

* * *

Flame blinked open his eyes to soft sunlight streaming in through the circular window in his room and realized something was wrong. Sitting up, he looked around. Yep, there was Julia next to him, and nobody else was in the room...

"Loudred! Loudred's not here!" That only meant one thing – he had woken up before Loudred! "Hey, Julia, wake up!"

"Wha – Flame? Why are you...?" Julia stood, yawning, then glanced at the doorway. "Where's Loudred? Did he leave already, or...?"

"What does it matter? Come on, let's head over to the meeting spot!" The two of them ran past the crew rooms and into the main room. Diglett and his father were already there, as were Chimecho and Sunflora, but the boys were all absent, including Lucky and Perry.

"Well, good morning!" Sunflora greeted. "It looks like Loudred slept in today, eh? So, for once, you got to wake up with the sunrise, with birds chirping outside..."

"Speaking of birds, where's Chatot?" Diglett piped up, looking around. "I don't see him anywhere..."

"Well, son, why don't you check upstairs?" Dugtrio suggested, glancing at the ladders. Nodding in agreement, Diglett vanished underground. A few seconds later, he popped back up, frowning.

"He's not there, dad! I checked the top tent and everything! Where could he have gone?"

Shaking her head, Sunflora began to walk towards the crew rooms. "Wherever he's gone, I still need to wake up that silly Loudred! Anybody want to come with me to make it an especially rude awakening?"

"I'm totally coming! Revenge will be mine!" Diglett cheered, tunnelling along. Flame exchanged a glance with Julia, who shrugged, then they followed those two. The door to the boys' room was closed, as it had been when Flame and the three girls left early, but Sunflora opened it with a flourish. Inside, Loudred was slumped against a wall, snoring loudly, while Corphish had fallen asleep suspiciously close to Bidoof's diary with his claws over his ear holes. Bidoof was snoozing on the ground; Croagunk occupied his bed.

"Are you ready, guys?" Sunflora asked, and at their nods, took in a deep breath and yelled in a surprisingly loud, yet ridiculously high-pitched voice, "UP AND AT 'EM, GUYS! It's MORNING!" Flame and Julia ducked away from her in shock, putting their paws over their ears. That screech woke up all fours boys, Loudred nearly falling forwards onto his face.

"HEY! What was THAT for – GAH!" Diglett popped up under his foot, then vanished and came up under the other one before using Earthquake and shaking the whole room. That successfully caused Loudred to fall over, Corphish to nearly fly out the window, and Bidoof to somehow get entangled with a confused Croagunk.

All four Pokémon at the door burst into laughter, and Chimecho flew over to take a peek as well. "Oh, my," she sighed with a smile, "that looks messy."

Getting to his feet, Loudred shouted, "You're bloody RIGHT, that looks MESSY! Sunflora, what the HELL do you THINK you're doing?! Are you TRYING to KILL me or something?!"

Sunflora put her hands on her hips and grinned at him. "Nope! We're just getting payback!"

"Did you have to go and get payback on us, too?" whined Bidoof, shoving Croagunk away from him in horror.

"Hiya! What are you guys doing? It looks like fun!"

Slowly, everyone turned around to gape at Wigglytuff, who stood right behind them in the hall.

"Uh, well, you see..." Flame attempted, but he got a pat on the head from Wigglytuff for his efforts.

"I see exactly what you're doing! You're getting revenge on Loudred for being a meanie instead of doing the morning address! You should have invited me, too! The morning address is _so_ boring. Here, let me try!"

"Oh, no, that won't be – " Julia began. In vain.

"Yoom-TAH!"

The force and sheer volume of the Hyper Voice sent all the guild members flying into the wall in a big heap. Flame was pretty certain that he couldn't feel his legs from where he was squished behind Sunflora and Julia.

"See? Wasn't that fun? Now let's all go and do the morning address!" With that, Wigglytuff bounced off joyfully.

_Well, this sucks._

Once they had all assembled themselves at the meeting spot, where Lucky and Perry had apparently been standing while they went off to wake up the boys, Wigglytuff began the morning address. It was odd for Wigglytuff to be conducting the morning address – almost literally conducting, what with the way he was flailing his arms about – and for Chatot's absence to not even be acknowledged, but Sunflora explained for Flame quickly.

"Chimecho was right. It's getting too cold for Chatot, so he's sleeping elsewhere. He's a southern bird, you know? Suited better to warmer climates. Anyways, because he doesn't get a lot of sleep on the ladder, he makes up for it in the first few weeks when he first starts sleeping in proper sleeping quarters. So that means we get Wigglytuff doing the morning address instead! Yippee!"

"Yeah, Wigglytuff's a lot of fun," Flame agreed. Then, turning to Julia, he asked, "Do you mind if we head down to Treasure Town before we head off? I want to...ask Team Raider about something."

"Um, I guess so." Julia gave him a curious look. "They might not be there today, though. Hm... I suppose there's a chance that the great Dusknoir could be in town, and after hearing Sunflora's description of him, I _am_ kind of curious."

"Just don't fall in love with him or anything," he laughed, mostly joking. Hitting him lightly with her tail, Julia headed upstairs with Flame in tow.

* * *

Sure enough, Sandslash, Scyther, and Zangoose of Team Raider were all present in Treasure Town. Julia had heard that they were rude and pushy, but Flame seemed to have a different opinion of them.

"Hey, Zangoose! Remember me? It's Flame!"

Zangoose turned and cracked a sideways grin at the excited Cyndaquil. "Oi, kid, it's been a while, hasn't it? Heard you joined the Wigglytuff Guild. Good for you!" He came close to Flame and added in a hushed voice, "Just between the two of us, I think the Guildmaster's totally loony, but weak he isn't."

"Did you discover anything new on your last expedition?" Flame asked hurriedly, his eyes sparkling brightly.

Chuckling, Zangoose replied, "Nah, Team Charm beat us to it this time. Aegis Cave, it was. They offered us some of the treasure, but we declined. After all, it was theirs. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers. We'll get 'em next time, won't we, boys?"

"That's right!" Scyther agreed; Sandslash only nodded sullenly.

_Well, they don't seem too bad,_ Julia reflected_. Maybe whoever these 'Team Charm' people are were trying to give them a bad name?_

"Oh, right!" Flame grabbed Julia's paw and dragged her over. "This is my partner, Julia! Together, we're Team Eleblaze!"

"That's impressive, kid," Zangoose said, shaking Julia's paw. "You two go on a lot of expeditions yet?" Giving him a sly look, he added, "How was Blackfire Crater? Did you find the secret message from times long past?"

Flame laughed, beaming up at him. "So Wigglytuff and Chatot really do prank all of the guild members?"

"They sure got us good!"

Feeling a little excluded, Julia whispered to Flame, "Mind if I head out for a bit? Just around town, that is."

"Yeah, sure! I might be a while, so take your time!"

Nodding, Julia smiled and walked towards the Kecleon Market, hoping to see Azurill and Marill stop by. But when the market came in sight, Julia was shocked to see Dusknoir floating in front, talking casually with the Kecleon brothers. Taking in a deep breath, Julia walked over and prepared some questions in her mind. But before she could open her mouth to talk to him, someone forcefully shoved her aside.

"Wow, it's the great Dusknoir! Hey, Perry, can you believe it? Mr. Dusknoir, sir, can I have your autograph?" Julia sat up and sighed. Why was she not surprised?

Dusknoir turned to face the boys and smiled mildly. "Good morning, you two. If it's an autograph you want, I would be happy to oblige, but it seems that you have pushed over this lady." He offered Julia a hand, which she nervously took.

"Whoops! Sorry about that!" Lucky told her, scratching the back of his head. "I was just so excited to meet the great and powerful Dusknoir that I totally didn't see you there!"

_Like heck you didn't,_ Julia thought, wiping dirt off her arm.

"Oh, boy, it's such an honour to meet you! My name is Lucky, and this is my brother, Perry! Do you really know the answers to everything and anything? I have so many questions! Okay, um, who's the most powerful Pokémon in the world? How do mystery dungeons work? What's the ultimate question? What – "

"I'm really sorry," Julia interrupted sheepishly, clamping a paw over Lucky's mouth. "Lucky and Perry are new recruits at the guild, and they were out when Chatot was telling us not to bother you, and Lucky's just really hyper all the time."

Laughing, Dusknoir shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Actually, boys, I'm sorry – the rumours that I have a wealth of knowledge are really nothing more than rumours. I can't answer too many questions, but I will do my best."

Julia glanced at Perry who, despite not being even half as excitable as his brother, was beaming happily and flapping his wings constantly, causing him to bob in the air. While it was pretty great to meet Dusknoir, Lucky was shooting off ridiculous questions at him left, right, and centre, so Julia figured it was best if she left for now so as to not overwhelm him. Going back to Flame was looking like a pretty good option right now...though he was still likely talking with Team Razor Wind.

She heaved a sigh, then made up her mind. Returning to Flame was the best idea she had. Perhaps he would finish his conversation when he saw her coming. Julia was only a few metres from where he was when she started to hear what they were talking about.

"Yeah, I know," Flame was saying with an upset tone in his voice, "but I still feel uncomfortable. I mean, maybe excepting Lucky, I'm the only omnivore in the guild. And what if she's only saying that she'd be okay with it? What if she gets totally disgusted?"

"Listen, kid." That was Scyther talking, an obviously bored tone in his voice. "A while back, we had to work with a Clefairy on a mission – she wanted us to take her to a sealed chamber or something. Well, I got hungry and I picked a Volbeat from the sky. What was I supposed to eat, an apple?" He and Sandslash laughed raucously before he continued, "Of course not. So I started eating it, and Clefairy just flipped out, like, 'Holy shit! You can't eat a Pokémon!' Some fairy types, eh? Anyways, we – the three of us, brutish-looking guys – managed to convince her that it was normal!"

"Long story short," Zangoose interrupted, shooting Scyther a look, "you just take a trip on your own if you feel you need to, okay? And if she's anything but firmly against it, she should be okay with it. It's a way of life, kid." Then, he glanced over his shoulder at Julia, who had managed to stay out of their field of vision for that whole time. "Right? You wouldn't mind if your buddy went out hunting, would'ja?"

Julia swallowed upon seeing Flame's terrified expression and she shook her head. "Not at all! Flame, when you asked me that before, I told you you could hunt, didn't I?" Boldly, she came towards him and pushed her nose into the side of his neck. "I won't like you any less for it, got it?"

"Y-yeah," Flame stammered, nuzzling her back. "Thanks, Julia. Um, would you mind if I went today – "

"Of course you can!" Julia told him, smiling. "Come on; I'll see you off at the crossroads." She waved at Zangoose, who lifted a claw in response, then walked along with Flame. Once they reached the four-way split in the road that led to the guild, the beach, Treasure Town, and the rest of the great unknown, Julia decided to add something that she had been thinking of for a while.

"There's another thing, Flame. I don't know for certain, but I get the feeling that when I was a human, I also ate both Pokémon and plants."

Flame blinked in surprise, then turned his head away, mumbling, "You don't have to say that."

"I'm not just saying it," Julia insisted, touching his paw. "Now, I wouldn't even imagine it, but I think that I might have in the past."

He smiled at her, then reached out and hugged her. "Thanks. I was worried that, maybe, you'd get mad if I – "

"Don't act like an idiot on purpose. You're adorable enough as it is."

Blushing, he turned to go, then added with an air of concern, "You'll be alright on your own, right?"

"Of course! See ya later!" With that, Julia headed up the road towards the guild, waving over her shoulder.

When she got to the top step, she stood over the grate as usual, but a different voice called out, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" It was Loudred that replied with, "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" leaving Julia to wonder what was going on. From time to time, another team would replace Diglett and Loudred on sentry duty, but never just Diglett.

"The footprint is Pikachu! That's Julia!"

_That's Sunflora_, Julia realized, stepping off the grate and entering the tent. That was unusual, indeed.

"Chatot," Julia began as she approached the frazzled-looking Pokémon, "just out of curiousity, why is Sunflora on sentry duty?"

Chatot looked up at her blearily and replied, "Her idea of 'revenge' on Loudred woke me up this morning. Also, it's entertaining when she gets into arguments with Loudred." He produced a half-smile at that thought before yawning and shaking his head. "You kids stayed up far too late last night," he added, looking at Julia with a distant look. "I did not get into this yearly routine for you all to mess it up. It's critical that I get enough sleep..." Then he fell asleep.

Taking a moment to stare at him, Julia headed over to the job bulletin boards. Lately, she'd taken to going after criminals, due to feeling that they were more high-priority than getting items for people or running errands. She'd had enough run-ins with bad Pokémon to know well how nasty they could be, and with two Time Gears stolen, more Pokémon were becoming corrupted.

Diglett was already at the outlaw notice board, frowning at one of the requests. "Hi, Julia," he greeted distractedly. "There's this notice I want to take down, but I obviously can't reach it. Would you mind grabbing it for me?"

Looking for the notice that he was staring directly at, Julia pulled down a piece of paper and waved it. "This one?"

"No, the one above it," Diglett told her, but managed to catch a glimpse of the paper she held. "Hang on, this one's more interesting!" Frowning, Julia held it out for him to read, and he stared up at her in amazement. "I don't believe it! I'm glad you can't read, or I could have been able to tell you exactly which one I wanted and you wouldn't have seen this one. Or maybe you would have read it and chosen it for yourself. Either way, Team Skull stole a thing!"

"Wh-what?"

"Take a look – no, wait, it won't matter. Then again, there's a picture. Albeit a really poorly-drawn one, so you might not recognize the face. See? Or not? It's Skuntank!"

It was true; the poorly-drawn mugshot on the request was of Skuntank herself, and the bounty, which Julia could read, was incredibly high.

"Woah, fifty thousand Poké?!" she exclaimed. "What was it that they stole that was so important?"

"Well, by the looks of it, a..." Diglett gave the paper an odd look.

"What is it?" Julia pressed.

"I...I can't see it. You're holding the paper at the wrong angle."

"Oh. Sorry. Here, can you see it now?"

Diglett paused, then looked at the paper blankly. "They stole a gummi. A sky gummi, to be exact."

_Sheesh, someone must really have a sweet tooth. That's a high bounty!_

"And they've apparently gone to the Sheltered Marsh. There's a lot of water types there, but I really want to go." He gave Julia a firm look. "If there's one thing I want to do for the guild, it's to make Team Skull pay. I might not ever get another chance to do that. Will you come with me?"

"You kidding me? Of course!" Julia smiled at him, feeling adrenaline beginning to pump in her veins. "Let's go right away!"

"Yes," said Diglett, "and let's mess them up so badly that they can't walk for days. Hopefully, they drown in the swamp."

"C-come again?"

"Let's win against them in battle! That's all I said, honestly!"

"...right."


	25. Chapter 25

**Almost forgot to upload this chapter! Anyways, enjoy, as usual, and leave me a review if you liked it, or if you hated it.**

**Thanks for reading! c:**

* * *

When Bugsy emerged from the bushes with Julia, Flame, and Sir Majestic Tail following him, the sun hung low in the sky, spilling orange hues onto the clouds. As much as the sight was lovely over the treetops, Flame knew it meant something more sinister. Night was approaching, and besides it being more difficult to see, different Pokémon were usually driven out to hunt. Being that she herself was technically a hunter, that didn't concern her too much. What did, however, concern her, was the thought of one of these Pokémon attacking Julia.

_Because as weird as this forest is, I'm certain I could get through it alright every time. For a Pokémon, I don't even think it would be that much of a big deal. But a human...that's another story altogether._

"Should we split up, or...?" Julia asked Bugsy, to which he quickly shook his head.

"I don't want to lose one of you, especially not at night." Faintly, Flame could still notice him trembling. He must really love his sister...

Taking in a breath, Julia replied, "Alright. Let's head in, then." All at once, they walked into the forest, then continued as their eyes adjusted to the dark. Flame could see almost right away, from the faint light emanating from the quarter moon, but Julia had to pull out her PokéGear to use the light from the screen to illuminate the path. Then she started dialling a number.

"What – " Bugsy began, but Julia interrupted him.

"My friend, Leo – he's obsessed with knowing about weird things. I think he'd appreciate a video call from inside the forest." She tapped the screen, frowning. "If there's reception in here."

A few seconds later, a voice from the device asked, "Yeah? Oh, hi, Jules. Where are you?"

"I'm in Ilex Forest." Julia paused, then let out an uneasy laugh. "For the third time. Honestly, I betcha anything I'll end up visiting so much that I move in."

Leo laughed at that, though he still seemed a little downcast. "Well, turn the screen around. Let me see."

As she did, Julia added, "We're looking for Bugsy's little sister. Team Fury dropped her off somewhere in here, and, as you know, the Pokémon in here are hostile, so we need to find her."

"The guys that killed a crapton of people last night? Yeesh, those guys are sick!"

Flame dropped in close to Julia's side, flicking her eyes about. Just a bit behind them, Bugsy was gripping a long, thin vine tightly in his fist, which he slashed the first Furret that attacked with. It wasn't a great comfort to have a grass type defending them in a bug-infested forest, but she had seen the way he fought back against Team Fury when they attacked Julia and how he healed Flame. At the very least, Flame could smirk in thought of how Fluffy would have reacted to having a grass type on the team.

The forest was surprisingly quiet when the last glow in the sky faded into darkness. The tree grew densely, though the path they walked on was wide and almost completely clear. Wild Pokémon did attack often, seeming to come out of thin air, but fighting them felt different now that Flame had realized how non-threatening the place would be for a Pokémon like herself. Her only point of concern was her trainer who, on top of being mostly incapable of defending herself, was also holding out a PokéGear for Leo to see the forest for himself.

"This is incredible!" the boy exclaimed when they reached another of those baited rooms. "They all managed to cooperate to attack as one!"

"I'd call it terrifying," Julia objected, quickly stepping back to avoid an attack from a Paras, "though it's not as bad the third time through."

Bugsy had been silent the whole time, but now he said, "This is really weird, though." He whipped his vine at a Spinarak, his eyes narrowed. "Ever since we've come in here, I haven't been able to understand a single wild Pokémon. It's bizarre – in all my time living by this forest, this has never happened before. And why has it turned into a labyrinth now?"

"They aren't speaking normally, Bugsy," Flame agreed as she ran into the clearing to gather up some of the items scattered around. "Maybe they can understand each other within their species, but to me, it sounds like gibberish. Are you getting the same thing, Fire-Butt?"

"I don't care what language they're speaking, I just want to leave this place!" He made a disgusted noise as he squished a bug Pokémon of sorts underfoot. "Can we not get to finding that girl faster so we can leave...please?"

Flame glanced at Julia, who nodded sombrely.

"Lily!" Bugsy yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Lily, can you hear me?!" All that replied was silence.

"Oh, Lily, do be a dear and come out!" wailed Sir Majestic Tail. "Come out so we can go out!" Then he accidentally tripped on a vine spread out on the ground and chestnuts dropped down on his head. "What on earth – ?! Who in their right mind would pummel me with so many chestnuts?!" Raising his head, he cried out, "Don't you know who I am?!"

"Calm yourself, you spastic dunderhead," Flame snickered at him. "It was only a chestnut trap. No big deal."

"Sure, it's a big deal!" retorted Sir Majestic Tail, but he said nothing more than that and took to silently pouting.

It felt like they were making no progress. Julia had long disconnected the call, with Leo excitedly telling her he'd post the video to his site and to add that she should let him know if she learned anything new about the place. From time to time, Bugsy called out his sister's name, but he never received a response. Sir Majestic Tail suggested that they leave and return when it was light – an idea that Julia hesitated to shoot down. The longer they were in Ilex Forest, the more likely it felt that Lily was beyond saving.

That was until a small voice whimpered, "Help...please..."

Bugsy turned and ran towards where it had come from and collapsed by a bush. "L-Lily! Oh, Lily, it's okay. Big brother's here now." Tears were filling his eyes as he reached out his arms and pulled a skinny little girl from the bush. "Oh, thank Arceus, you're safe..."

Slowly, Julia approached with the rest of her Pokémon and they stood by the girl. Her hair was the same shade of violet as her brother but her eyes were light brown, and she was wearing a little white dress that was torn with one edge that was soaked in dark red.

"There's not much I can do without the sunlight," Bugsy murmured, stroking her hair gently, "but I'll heal you as best I can." He placed a hand on her thigh and it glowed momentarily before he pulled it away.

"There were a lot of scary Pokémon," she whimpered, trembling. "A Weedle started chasing me and wouldn't stop! What if he comes back?!"

"Hey, Lily, it's okay," Bugsy whispered, smiling at her. "Big brother will chase away any bad Pokémon, okay? Let's go back home now." Standing up, he extended both his hands to her and pulled her to her feet, then clenched one of her hands and began walking back.

Feeling awkward for just following silently, Flame came around the girl's side and smiled at her. "Hi, Lily. My name is Flame! It's nice to meet you!" The little girl blinked at her, turning her head sideways, then let go of Bugsy's hand to hug her unexpectedly.

"You're so soft!" Lily squeaked, snuggling Flame's fur. Flame's face burned, but she lightly put her paws over the girl's shoulders. The two were almost the same height. "Are you one of Bugsy's friends?"

"Yes, she is," Bugsy replied for Flame, smiling. "Her name is Flame, and that's Flame's trainer, Julia, and Sir Majestic Tail." Lily let go of Flame and glanced back at them, then cheerfully waved.

"Hi! Brother, if they're your friends, can they be my friends, too?"

"Of course!" Julia replied. "We can all be friends!" That seemed to delight Lily and she ran over to Julia, then to Sir Majestic Tail, giggling.

"Pony-ta!" she addressed, patting his side. "Your fur is nice, too!"

"Well, we all knew that, didn't we?" Sir Majestic Tail asked, raising his nose. "But thank you, small lady, for noticing."

Then Lily ran back to her brother to grab his hand again when a Noctowl swooped down from above. Flame shot it with Ember and was genuinely shocked to see that that was all it took to knock it out.

_I suppose all this running around in Ilex Forest has made me stronger, _she figured, feeling a little bit of pride before realizing something else._ That means that I might be evolving soon. Oh, please let my evolution look okay!_

The forest was, once again, different on the way back. It wasn't too difficult to traverse, but Flame hated the feeling of not knowing how much progress they had made. For a few minutes, she mentally mapped the area and an odd idea began to form in her mind. Sometimes, they reentered the same patches of clearing, but after a while, it was impossible to double back. When that happened, some of the Pokémon in the area changed – sometimes there was an abundance of Weedles; other times, there were none to be found and Furrets dominated instead.

_It's split into floors! _The realization made her feel a bit elated inside._ Whenever we reach a new floor, there are new Pokémon and items and the layout of paths and clearing changes. Then we can't go back to the previous floor, no matter what!_

_Oh._

"Um, Julia?" Flame tugged on Julia's bag until the girl glanced down.

"What is it?"

"I figured something out," Flame sighed, looking at the path ahead. "The way we're going now, we're headed to Goldenrod city."

Bugsy glanced back sharply at that statement and Lily gave a little cheer. "Yay! Does that mean that we can go and visit Whitney? She made gingersnaps the last time we came, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. Flame, am I hearing you correctly? We're going in the direction of Goldenrod?"

"Yeah, I think so." She looked at the ground, then looked up to quickly shoot Ember at a Paras. "It doesn't matter if it seems like we're going back. This forest is split into floors. I don't really get it myself, but there's areas that change within this forest, and once they change, you can't go back to them. There's no way to go back to Azalea town until we clear the forest and go back in."

Bugsy frowned, then sighed. "Well, I can say for certain that we're not going back through Ilex Forest anytime soon, so Goldenrod it is."

"Thank you, brother!" Lily cried out happily. "Maybe we can even go on the Magnet Train! Or go and have some ice cream on the beach together!"

The Gym Leader's expression softened, and he smiled back at her. "I'd really like to do that." He picked her up and nuzzled her hair. "It's late tonight, so we can play tomorrow. Do we have a plan?"

"Yep!"

Laughing, Julia began, "I'm glad that it all worked out for – "

"Hey, Fire-Butt, slow the fuck down!"

Everyone stopped and Sir Majestic Tail turned and ran back down the path to press the side of his head against –

"Fluffy!"

Flame's eyes involuntarily pooled with tears and she wiped them away with a paw before joining the two. The Flaaffy put her paws around Sir Majestic Tail's neck and Flame's back, shaking.

"Man, I've been running around looking for all three of you forever," she panted. "Finally you came back for – " Her voice cracked and she stopped and swallowed, wiping her face against Sir Majestic Tail's neck. "Let's just get the fuck out of this mystery dungeon, okay?"

_Mystery...dungeon?_

"It's really you," Julia murmured, crouching when she came near. "We thought you'd died or – "

Fluffy Thunderbolted all three of them.

"You idiots! Like I'd die so easily!"

Bugsy set down Lily and also came over, a grin on his face. "So you've all reunited? I'm glad that you're still around, or Julia might have caught a grass type Pokémon! Without you to remind her..."

"Arceus forbid!" Fluffy bleated, shoving him away gently. "Flame, if she ever forgets, you tell her, got it? That's an order!"

Smiling, Flame tried to cross her paws and managed to. Whether she pulled off the teasing look was a different story altogether, but she came close. "It's good to have you back, Fluffy."

"Never run off again!" Sir Majestic Tail whinnied, blinking away tears. "You had me worried sick, my dearest Fuzzykins!"

"Whatever, guys. Let's beat it."

A new feeling of joy bursting within each of them, they turned and continued down the path. Then Bugsy paused.

"Hey, Lily? Where'd you run off to?" he called out.

"I'm over here!" came the response. Nodding, to Julia, Bugsy quickly ran off in the direction of Lily's voice. Suddenly, a scream pierced the forest that sent the Pidgeys flying from their roosts in the trees. The four exchanged glances, then sped over to where Bugsy was, on his hands and knees.

Julia's eyes grew wide and she nearly collapsed. Tearing her eyes away from the sight for a moment, Flame grabbed both her hands to right her, but couldn't stop herself from whimpering.

There on the grass lay Lily. Above her stood someone clutching a dark red lump that trailed down to her body, spurting blood. The someone laughed, squeezing the heart between his fingers.

"Took you long enough to show up," he said, then lifted the organ to his face and licked it. "Now, I know what you're all thinking. Literally." Jerome dropped it and pressed down in it with the heel of his boot. "Unfortunately, your revenge will have to wait for later. Until we meet again..." Then he vanished.

Bugsy shook, staring at the ground. "N-no...he wouldn't...not when...were so close..."

"LILY!"


	26. Chapter 26

**Diglett is quickly becoming one of my favourite characters. I don't know what it is. Maybe I just like characters that are totally psycho. There need to be more of those in this world.**

**Anywho, enjoy and review! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"So, Diglett, have you met the great Dusknoir yet?"

Julia and Diglett were sitting – well, Julia at least was sitting; who knew what Diglett's lower half was doing – under the drooping branches of a willow for a lunch break. Neither had made much conversation while they traversed the mystery dungeon known as the Sheltered Marsh, due to the fact that Diglett tunnelled underneath the surface of the swampy mud instead of through it with his head poking up. He claimed that he was following the vibrations of Julia's footsteps, but he seemed unable to sense when there were wild Pokémon because he never came up to fight. While Julia didn't mind fighting the mostly water type Pokémon alone, she knew that she might have trouble if she ventured into a monster house.

_Why can't he just walk through the marsh like I'm doing?_ she wondered, not for the first time. _In fact, what does his lower half look like, anyways? I've only ever seen his head._

"No, not yet," replied Diglett between mouthfuls of a pecha berry. "Well, I have, from below when he came to the guild, so ignore what I said before. Unless you're asking if I've seen him personally? Well, define personal. Wait, don't – I've never talked to him. That's pretty impersonal. Wait, yes I have, briefly, when he came to the grate. Does that count?"

"Um..." What could be said to that, really? "I mean, if you've... Ah, never mind."

"I wonder why people always say 'never mind' to me," Diglett said, looking thoughtful. "Especially Loudred. Nice guy; bad listening skills. I've heard from Flame that you're a good listener, though. What if we just took you and made lots of copies of you? That might be a good idea. Unless there's too many of them, because that would be just way too many Pikachus and electricity. But us ground types wouldn't mind. Maybe I'd just put all your clones underground. But what if they see what the rest of my body looks like? Then I'd have to kill them all. And that would be too much trouble for what it's worth."

It didn't take very long for Julia to be glad that Diglett stayed underground for the majority of the time.

Standing up and stretching, she suggested, "Why don't we get moving again? We want to catch Team Skull before they leave with that gummi, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Diglett agreed cheerfully. "In the name of the Wigglytuff Guild, we will punish them! And we can achieve that by slowly dismembering them, limb-by-limb and gouging out their brains!" Then Diglett vanished underground.

Julia wondered if it would be better if she said nothing to him for the rest of the trip.

The Sheltered Marsh was one of the calmer mystery dungeons, with more plants than Pokémon. As Julia had heard, it was one of the oldest mystery dungeons in the region, so the wild Pokémon had settled down and were less aggressive. The ground was soft beneath her paws and shallow ponds ringed with cattails littered the dungeon. There was also an abundance of weeping willow trees, which sheltered the marsh from harsh light, giving it its name. All in all, it was actually a nice location despite being incredibly difficult to traverse, what with all its ponds and trees. Apparently, some sane water and ground type Pokémon even lived within the marsh; it was the home of Team Glee's Politoed's family.

Still, Julia felt uneasy as she wove between water pools, attacking Pokémon from a distance with sharp blasts of electricity. There were just a few too many ground types for her to be comfortable, and Team Skull could be hiding behind the next jutting rock or in a thick group of reeds. There was a constant sense of danger for her and something just felt...off. What it was, she couldn't tell.

Maybe it's because Flame isn't here with me, she thought. Even if he's weak to both water and ground, even just his presence is reassuring.

Julia pricked an ear up and looked around. There had been a soft, faraway sound that she had just missed.

"Why are we stopped?" Diglett asked, popping up from the mud.

"Um, did you hear something just now?"

"I can't say I did. It's kind of hard to hear things when I'm tunnelling through wet mud."

"Right."

"Although..." He paused and looked at Julia curiously. "I did feel a vibration. A very far away one, I can assure you. The Sheltered Marsh is a really small dungeon, even if it is very maze-y. I'd say our chances of being brutally murdered by a large and particularly dangerous Pokémon today are very low. Let's keep going, shall we?"

* * *

"Is that so? The Sheltered Marsh, huh?"

A bit past noon, Flame returned to the guild from his hunting trip, hoping in vain that Julia would still be there. He shouldn't have been surprised that she was gone, but what did surprise him was when he was at the crossroads and about to leave, Corphish came over and told him exactly where it was that Julia had gone.

"That's right! She went off with Diglett on an outlaw mission not a few hours ago, hey hey!"

"I don't think we've ever been there before," Flame commented, pulling out his map, "but I've heard of it. It's just south of Treasure Town, right? I hope she's okay with him there."

"Hey hey hey! Diglett may not seem like much, but he's tough in battle! I'm certain the two of them will be just fine!" He glanced from side to side, then came closer. "I may have misheard, but apparently the crooks in question are none other than Team Skull! Seems like they made it back from Foggy Forest in time to cause more trouble!"

Flame jumped in shock, then shook his head. "Those guys again? But they already screwed up our expedition to gather perfect apples! What more do they want?!"

"I don't know, hey hey! But I'm almost certain they're up to something! Sheltered Marsh is a really placid place, if you know what I mean. They must have a really nasty surprise planned!"

Before Flame could mention the 'noxious gas combo' that had knocked him and Julia out before, a new voice spoke, "I apologize for intruding, but I couldn't help but overhear that you were talking about the Sheltered Marsh?"

Coming up from behind Flame was none other than the great Dusknoir himself, with an expression of intrigue on his face. Flame's eyes widened but he just nodded, feeling giddy. The great Dusknoir was actually talking to them!

"Yep. That's where my partner went, after some criminals. Why?"

Dusknoir frowned, stroking his chin with a hand. "I have been there myself numerous times, but at this time of the year..." He closed his eye, grimacing. "May I ask what Pokémon your partner is?"

"S-sure. She's a Pikachu." Dusknoir's expression was causing the fur on the back of Flame's neck to rise.

"...she is in danger. Very great danger."

_Julia is in danger? But I thought there were mostly water types in there... _"What do you mean, Dusknoir, sir?"

The Pokémon flew past them to the signpost that led to the rest of the region, then stopped and turned his head slightly back. "In the autumn, Palpitoads gather in the marsh before going into hibernation. The last time I encountered them, I was viciously attacked."

"What?!" Flame gasped, exchanging a glance with Corphish. "Then I have to go after her and warn her!"

"No," Dusknoir responded, lowering his head, "it is far too risky. You are a fire type – you would fare no better than an electric type. I do not wish to endanger you, as well. I alone must pursue her." With that, he floated away and disappeared.

"Hey hey hey," Corphish said softly, frowning after him, "don't you think he's really putting himself in danger to help her out?"

"You're not kidding." Flame felt terror for his partner, but a slight warmth knowing that there was still a Pokémon in the world who acted selflessly. "I hope that someday, I'll be like that!" Corphish rolled his eyes at Flame, then beckoned with a pincer.

"Come on, fangirl," he teased, scuttling in the direction of the guild, "let's see if we can get Bidoof to join us on an expedition." Giving one last look down the path, Flame followed Corphish back to the guild.

* * *

It had grown quiet in the marsh. The deeper in Julia and Diglett went, the fewer Pokémon there were who attacked them. Here, there were more fallen trees that Julia had to climb over and flatter ground, as if the ground wasn't flat enough as it was throughout the rest of the marsh. Sunlight was able to pour in, but it still felt eerie. There were so few Pokémon that Julia could almost forget that they were in a mystery dungeon.

_We've been walking for hours, but there's still no sign of Team Skull. Could they have just led us on a wild goose chase to pay us back somehow?_

Then Diglett popped out from the ground, shaking mud off his head, and burst out, "I felt it again! Well, it may be something different this time, but I felt more tremors regardless! And closer, too!"

"Tremors?" Julia couldn't help but groan. Tremors usually meant, from some experiences that she had not too long ago, ground types. And the last time she faced off against a ground type...well, it didn't exactly turn out well for her. "Don't tell me that means there's a ground type approaching."

"If you don't want me to, then I won't, but it certainly isn't an ice type." Diglett paused, then continued, "Unless it's a Mamoswine. But those don't live here. I mean, it's way too warm. And even if they did live here, they wouldn't live in the marsh. Unless it was winter, which is coming, so maybe it is a Mamoswine. But it's not winter yet, so – "

Instead of standing around dumbly while Diglett rambled on, Julia began walking, which forced the other Pokémon to duck underground to follow. At the very least, he seemed to know that what he was saying wasn't crucial for anyone to hear. Perhaps this was why Loudred always got so upset with him.

It wasn't long before Julia could feel the shaking, but unlike the tremors that Groudon caused, this felt more like constant, uneven rumbling. While that meant whatever was causing them was weaker, there were more of them. Julia decided not to think about that too much and just continued on.

After a short while, Diglett came up in front of Julia so suddenly she almost fell back into the mud.

"Hold it, Julia! Whatever was causing those tremors is right up ahead!" He gave her a serious look but there was fear in his eyes. "It's probably safer to go back. Well, for you, anyways. The Pokémon living around here might be in danger. Then again, they all fled already. Unless – " He broke off and shook his head. "No, no going off-topic. Julia, come on. We need to turn back."

"But..." Frowning, Julia looked past him. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, and the shaking had stopped. "But what if Team Skull caused this? Shouldn't we try to help out?"

"If it's too dangerous, it's too dangerous!" Diglett protested. "I know you like to play hero all the time, but you could be horribly disfigured and mashed into a yellow and red Pikachu pulp! And be eaten by Murkrows within a few days! Doesn't that sound unpleasant?"

With a sigh, Julia nodded. "I guess you're right. We'd better turn back now." Before she could move, the ground trembled, then shook violently, sending her stumbling off her paws. In an instant, a horde of Palpitoads leapt up from the mud, surrounding them both completely.

"What's this? A couple of little kids?" Julia backed up until she felt Diglett behind her. Terror was building up within her and she wanted to run.

"Um, misters Palpitoads," Diglett began nervously, "we were just passing through here, but if you'd like, we'll leave right away and never ever bother or even see you again! Right, Julia?"

Julia quickly nodded her agreement.

The Palpitoad who had spoken, supposedly their leader, stepped forwards and gave them a mocking smile. "You'll leave and never see us again, eh? I thought it was common knowledge that we come here every autumn and claim this territory as ours!" He narrowed his eyes, chuckling darkly. "Seems like we'll have to give the good townspeople a reminder, eh?" He looked around at his troupe and asked, "Waddaya say? Want to give them a beating they'll remember?"

The other Palpitoads jumped about in excitement, sending seismic waves through the ground that knocked Julia off her paws.

"Julia, if we don't want them to scramble us like eggs, we'll have to fight back!" Diglett warned.

"Are you kidding me? They're water and ground types! There's no way we can fight against them!"

The Palpitoads kept jumping about while the leader leapt in and attacked fiercely with blasts of mud and filthy water. Julia could taste mud in her mouth but every time she went to spit it out, she was hit again with more dirt. Slowly, she was losing her energy, and in the presence of so much earth, she couldn't even release electricity – not that it would have any effect on the Palpitoads, anyways.

"Julia, just so you know," Diglett began, cringing against a blast of water, "I've always loved you."

Julia couldn't reply but settled for a bewildered stare instead.

"Isn't that what you say when you're about to die?" Diglett asked speculatively. "Dad's always taking me to see plays – overly dramatic and mushy love stories, but plays nonetheless – and they always say something really disgusting if someone's going to die. Like, 'I never realized this, but I love you!' I kind of think it's cute, but it's also very gross. Unless they say it very softly as someone is dying in their arms, or paws, whatever. Still, wouldn't the other person be too dead to hear them? But what if – hey, are you even listening?"

The whole time while he had been talking, Julia had been tossed around by the attacks like a leaf in a hurricane and she was struggling to even stay conscious. She was thrown against the ground and she coughed up muddy water, panting hard.

"Diglett, just tunnel out of here!" she managed, before whimpering when one of the Palpitoads hit her with a Mud Shot. Diglett's eyes widened as if he had never even considered the idea before, but he shook his head.

"It's my fault we're here, so I'm not leaving you. Well, it was kind of your fault, too – but that's besides the point. We're getting through this together, okay?"

_But for how much longer will we manage to hold out? _Julia wondered, closing her eyes against another forceful blast.

"Stop!"

The attacks halted the moment the new voice spoke. Rubbing dirt from her eyes, Julia looked up blearily, then blinked in surprise. The newcomer was none other than the great Dusknoir.

"Who the hell are you?" snapped the leader of the Palpitoads, taking an aggressive step towards him.

"My name is Dusknoir," he introduced, his gaze passive. "I apologize for these two. They are but children who knew nothing of your annual migration here. It was an honest mistake.

"Like hell it was!" Palpitoad clenched his fists in rage. "We've had to turn out more than five members of our group! They were corrupted by the distortions in time! I can tell a weak-minded Pokémon when I see one, thank you very much!" He jabbed his tail accusingly in their direction. "If they aren't corrupt already, they will be when time goes completely to hell! We don't need them here to mess everything up!"

Dusknoir closed his eye, then opened it and replied, "I am well aware that times are far from easy right now; however, these two are not corrupt but naive. They are but children, trainees of the Wigglytuff Guild. They mean no harm to you or your territory."

"The Wigglytuff Guild, eh?" Palpitoad looked thoughtful, then sighed. "I have heard that's a prestigious guild that's turned out some of the finest explorers in the region... Fine. They can go, but just this once." He looked at Julia and Diglett menacingly and told them, "I ever see you in our territory this time of year again, you won't come out of the experience in one piece, got it?"

Julia and Diglett weakly nodded in response.

"Come on, you two," Dusknoir said to them. "Let's make haste and leave immediately." The two were more than happy to oblige.

* * *

"Are you alright?!"

When Dusknoir arrived with the two at the crossroads, Flame had returned to the crossroads to wait anxiously for them. He rushed to Julia and hugged her tightly, a little _too_ tight for her at the moment.

"I'm so glad you're safe! Thank you so much, Dusknoir!"

"You are very welcome," the Pokémon replied. "I am only glad I could be of assistance."

Letting go of Julia, Flame said to Dusknoir, "It's so awesome that you're always helping people out! I hope that some day, I can be like you and be able to save Pokémon in trouble!"

Dusknoir chuckled. "You are too kind. Are you not on an exploration team? You already help Pokémon with many things, I'm certain."

"But we only ever do jobs. You help people without asking for payment!"

"That's not true!" Diglett piped up, giving Flame a warm look. "Remember that time you rescued Azurill from Drowzee? You guys left right away when you saw that note, even though there wasn't any reward for capturing him!"

Julia felt a little awkward under Diglett's praise. "That's because it was Azurill," she pointed out. "We know him, so we couldn't just leave him there with a criminal. And...I also saw a vision before I saw the note. That's why we ran off right – "

"I apologize for interrupting," Dusknoir began, "but did you just say that you had a vision?"

"Um, yeah," she replied, then remembered something. "Oh, that's right! We wanted to ask you about something, Dusknoir, sir. From time to time, I'll get dizzy and get these visions of the past or the future after touching something! Would you know anything about that?"

"Woah, that actually happens?!" Diglett exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly. "That's awesome! I could use that to find victims for the ritual of the sea!"

Dusknoir paid him no attention, though Julia and Flame gave him a startled look. Looking at Julia incredulously, Dusknoir stammered, "Why, th-that...that's the Dimensional Scream!"

"The Dimensional Scream?" echoed Flame and Julia at the same time, exchanging a glance. Flame then gave her a pressing look.

"Should we ask if he knows about...?"

_About...what? _Julia wondered. _Does he mean about my past? I guess there's no harm in telling him, though someone like Diglett probably shouldn't know..._

"Yeah, there's something else we wanted to ask you about," Julia began. "Um, Diglett, would you mind if we just spoke to Dusknoir privately?"

"Nope. Go on ahead," Diglett replied nonchalantly. "I'll just head up to the guild. Hey, we never did get to pulverize Team Skull! Darn, that makes me mad!" Grumbling to himself about inhumane revenge tactics, he vanished underground. Flame gave Julia a questioning look, but Julia just shook her head.

Julia motioned with a paw and led them down the path to the beach. "Come with me and I'll tell you." Soon, they were at the beach. Flame ran ahead and came over to a spot near the edge of the water.

"Right here is where I found her unconscious," he told Dusknoir, who looked a bit confused.

"I beg your – ?"

"When Flame and I first met, I think I'd washed up on shore or something," Julia explained, "because I was right there. I couldn't remember anything but my name, and..." She hesitated, then went on, "...the fact that I was a human before."

"What?! A...human?!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not lying – "

Shaking his head, Dusknoir interrupted, "No, I believe you. What point would there be for you to make something like that up?" He frowned, folding his arms in thought. "A human with the Dimensional Scream ability... And you said you remembered your name, at least?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Julia said. "Well, my name's Julia. It's a bit of an uncommon name here, I guess...but have you heard of it before?"

Dusknoir blinked at her, then his expression changed slightly as he replied, "I apologize. That name means nothing to me."

_That was kind of...odd. It looked like he hid a smile there for a second..._

"That bites," Flame sighed, coming back over to Julia, "but I guess the great Dusknoir can't know everything."

"Unfortunately, no," Dusknoir replied, "but I do know about the ability Julia possesses. It is known as the Dimensional Scream and it is exceedingly rare. It is uncertain how an individual gains this ability, but it allows them to see or hear brief glimpses of the future or the past. That is really all that is known about this ability, but I would say, Julia, that you are very lucky to have it."

"It has come in handy," Flame agreed. "That's amazing that you have such a great ability, isn't it?"

"I guess so," Julia sighed. She should have expected that there was no real answer to how she had such an ability, but she was grateful for the information Dusknoir was able to provide her with. At least she knew what it was now.

"However," Dusknoir continued, "the subject of how Julia transformed into a Pokémon fascinates me. That is certainly not an everyday occurrence. Perhaps this is why we met – so we could unravel the mystery of how this happened. Honestly, I cannot bear to not know about something like this, so I offer you my full cooperation."

"That's great!" Flame exclaimed, turning to look at Julia with a beam. "We're glad to have your help, Dusknoir, sir!"

A shadow fell over Flame then moved on. Julia glanced up and did a double-take. There were at least twenty Pelippers circling abovehead.

"Flame, are there usually this many Pelippers here?" she asked, feeling the fur on the back of her neck prick up.

"Erm, well, not this many," Flame replied, frowning up at them. Then Julia noticed something brown out of the corner of her eye and looked back at the beach. Bidoof was barrelling down the path, breathing hard.

"Guys! I found you – wah!" He tripped on a rock and faceplanted in the sand. Jumping in alarm, Flame rushed over to help him. "Oof, that was embarrassing," Bidoof mumbled, cringing. "Anyways, the call's been put out! All apprentices are to return to the guild immediately!"

Flame glanced at Julia worriedly. "This has gotta be something big!"

"I will come, too," Dusknoir said, looking equally concerned.

"Then let's go quickly!" Bidoof cried out, and led the way back to the guild with the others in tow.

* * *

"Oh, wow, a meeting! Do you think it's gonna be a special mission?"

"No, Lucky, I'm certain it's something more important than that."

"What's more important than a special mission?"

"A _lot_."

"Like what?"

The apprentices were all talking anxiously with each other within the guild, some looking worried and others nonchalant. Julia and Flame joined the crowd; Dusknoir hung back a little. Some of the apprentices – including, but not limited to, Lucky – came over to him to ask if he knew what was going on and if he knew what a Frism was and why it was a bad idea to talk to hooded figures, though he knew none of the answers.

Then Chatot appeared at the top of the ladder, followed by Wigglytuff, who looked significantly less joyful than usual. An uneasy hush fell over the apprentices as Chatot and Wigglytuff made their way over to the front of the room. It was Chatot who began to speak.

"We have called you all here because...well...another Time Gear has been taken."

At this point, nobody should have been surprised, but everyone still gasped and began talking urgently to each other in terror. Chatot didn't even bother silence them. He looked too worn down to even care anymore.

"And, as you all may have guessed and dreaded, it is the Time Gear from Fogbound Lake."

"Pardon me for interrupting," Dusknoir began, "but there was a Time Gear at Fogbound Lake? I was unaware of that. Was that what you had found on your expedition to Foggy Forest?"

"Yes," Wigglytuff replied, smiling faintly. "That's why we couldn't tell you that we found anything. Sorry about that, but we made a promise with Uxie."

"No, I understand. You can never be too cautious."

"We weren't cautious enough, it seems," Flame sighed. "But how did the thief find out? Did one of us...?"

Sunflora put her hands on her hips and snapped, "Don't even say something like that! You honestly think one of us would tell anyone?!"

"That's RUDE! Don't you DARE think that LITTLE of us!"

Cringing, Flame replied, "Sorry, you're right. None of us would break our promise."

"Anyways," Chatot continued, shooting everyone a look to silence them, "Uxie has been put in Magnezone's care for now – Loudred, don't make that face, please – and has identified the thief."

"Finally, we'll know who it is!" Diglett called out enthusiastically.

"Hey hey hey, whodunnit, Chatot?"

Sighing, Chatot gestured to the outlaw notice board with a wing. "Come see for yourself." Instantly, everyone crowded around the notice board to see who it was. When Julia caught sight of the large poster, her heart stopped and her ears drooped.

_This is all my fault_, she realized in horror. _What have I done?!_

The sketch of the thief on the poster was of a Grovyle, the same Grovyle that Julia had met in Foggy Forest. The same Grovyle who she insisted wasn't the thief.


	27. Chapter 27

**A chapter in which Sir Majestic Tail breaks the fourth wall! Okay, I guess fourth wall-breaking doesn't justify a week-late upload, but whatever. Enjoy the chapter that took we way too long to write and leave a review if you can!**

* * *

Flame awoke first and found that she had instinctively curled up towards Julia in her sleep again.

_This is the fifth morning in a row that I've woken up like this! _she thought, pulling her paws away from Julia's hands. She had also begun to wake up before her trainer, she'd noticed. She didn't want to think it was anything more than a coincidence, and now that it seemed to be routine, it didn't feel like too much of a big deal any more. Still, how had she gotten into that pattern, anyways?

"'Morning, Fluffy, Fire-Butt," she yawned, crawling out of bed. Fluffy was reading a newspaper – or at least, pretending she could read it – and Sir Majestic Tail was pacing with his head down.

"Can you tell that girl to wake up earlier?" he snapped at Flame, his fiery mane and tail sputtering in frustration.

"She needs her sleep," Flame sighed, hopping off the bed and walking over to Fluffy. The Flaaffy was sitting on the opposite bed and scanning the paper with her eyes. "Can you actually read any of that?"

"Of course not," Fluffy replied nonchalantly, "but I can see the pictures well enough. Sheesh, this business with Bugsy's sister sure is serious. Look at all the pictures of 'em!" She held out the paper so Flame could see and the Quilava's heart sank. The murder of Lily was still big news, only second to the massacre in Goldenrod that occurred the day before it. The image on the front showed Bugsy crying and a woman with darker purple hair holding his shoulders, and almost half of the pictures within the pages of the newspaper depicted Ilex Forest or police or arrests of Team Fury members.

"This is horrible," Flame murmured, tracing one of the pictures with a claw. "I can't believe that anyone could be that screwed up."

"You're right." Folding up the newspaper and tossing it to the side, Fluffy hopped off the bed and stretched. "If it were just the one guy, I'd say he was dropped on his head as a child and is suffering from a horrible mental illness, but it's a whole team of fucked-up people." She glanced at Flame over her shoulder and added, "And now Ilex Forest has turned a mystery dungeon, on the day of the massacre? Call that a coincidence, and you're the brain-dead one."

Flame got off the bed as well and came over to face her. "You called it a mystery dungeon three nights ago, too. What do you mean? How'd you come up with that name?"

"I didn't. You know that Sunflora that attacked Julia? Well, she 'rescued' me from a...what did she call it? Monster house?...and brought me to her place. She said the forest had been turned into a 'mystery dungeon,' whatever the hell that is." She shrugged and went on, "But she obviously knows more than me about that, so I assume she knows what she's talking 'bout. So, I've started calling it a mystery dungeon, too."

"That's something to tell Leo," Flame commented, then crossed her paws and closed her eyes. _Mystery dungeon, mystery dungeon... Where have I heard that before?_

"That's _it_!" Sir Majestic Tail finally burst out. "I shall wake her up now, whether she likes it or not!" He marched up to the bed, turned around, and kicked the frame with his hind legs. The bed rattled, but Julia stayed as asleep as she was before.

Chuckling, Flame said, "She wouldn't wake up if a herd of Bouffalants stampeded under her bed. She's gonna stay aslee – "

"I can remedy that," Fluffy interrupted and, building up static energy for a moment, blasted Julia with a Thunderbolt attack. Julia kicked out and flailed for a moment before falling off the bed and onto the floor.

"Fluffy!"

Grinning sheepishly, Fluffy skipped to Julia's side and leaned over her. "Good morning, how'd you sleep, feed us."

With a sigh, the girl sat up and rubbed her head. When she pulled her hand away, a bolt of static electricity leapt from her hair to her hand. "I may be an electric type, but that doesn't give you the right to blast me with as much power as you'd like!"

"Yes, it does. In fact, I'm gonna keep hitting you until you're forced to discharge."

"That sounds dirty," Sir Majestic Tail commented, making a face. Flame gave him an odd look.

"No, it doesn't. Pokémon can't say innuendos. It's physically impossible."

Julia stood up and yawned, then grabbed her clothes from her bag and went into the bathroom to get dressed. When she came out, she folded her bed and picked up the newspaper from the other. Without more than a glance over the cover image, she rolled it up and tossed it into the garbage.

"Alright, guys, let's see if the Poké-Centre has any decent breakfast food." Then she opened the door to the room and held it open for everyone. The dining area in the Centre had several long tables set up, laden with food. Trainers and Pokémon alike grabbed paper plates and loaded them with the food. It was very convenient that the Centre provided free breakfasts and dinners to any trainers that checked in for the night, but, as Flame had learned quickly, the food wasn't always of the best quality – the ham tasted like plastic, as did the cheese; the bread was slightly stale; and the Pokémon-exclusive food was just kibbles. Some Pokémon, especially cats and dogs, seemed okay with living off of that, but once Flame had tasted real food at the Hungry Clauncher the first night she had met Julia, she could never go back to the dry, tasteless pellets.

She had just taken a plate when a Chimecho barrelled into her, knocking her off her paws.

"Hey, watch it!" Flame yelled at it, pushing it off and standing up again. The Chimecho flew up, looking flustered.

"I'm so sorry," she chimed in embarrassment, "a Murkrow flew into me and I fell. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Flame took her now-dirty paper plate and tossed it away. "Are you also having real food here? Uh, assuming you can eat food?"

"Real food?" Chimecho scoffed, psychically taking a plate. "If you find any, point me to it! Everything here tastes like leaves! No, leaves would taste better." She shook her head and used Psychic to levitate a piece of white bread and drop it onto her plate. "If I were in charge, I would ensure that everyone ate like a king! Honestly! I thought humans would be a little less selfish, but it seems I was wrong!" She seemed to notice that she was dragging on, and she quickly stopped herself. "Sorry, it seems I began to ramble there. Well, I must go find my trainer now. Have a nice day."

As she floated away, Fluffy approached and leaned on her shoulder. "Know her?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason." Taking a plate for herself, Fluffy put one of everything on her plate, excluding meat. "This place is busy as heck, and the food isn't even that great. I wonder why anyone even bothers to come here."

"It's free?" Flame suggested. "Humans seem to be really concerned with money, from what I've seen."

After Julia and her Pokémon finished breakfast, they headed outside to get on with their day. Flame had gathered that Julia had wanted to just challenge the Gym Leader of Goldenrod and leave. Unfortunately, Whitney, the former Gym Leader, had been, in fact, the first to be murdered on the night that Team Fury attacked, so the position of Gym Leader was currently empty. All around the city, there were billboards advertising a tournament at the end of that week; whoever won would become the Gym Leader. Though Flame thought it was pretty fair, she knew that it meant that the Gym Leader would be a very talented trainer. And while Whitney had been a normal type, the new Gym Leader could be a water type or, even worse, a ground type.

"Hey, guys, I was thinking..." Julia began as they walked down the sidewalk. "Since there's not an awful lot to do here right now, why don't we go to the National Park? It's not gonna be warm forever – we might as well take advantage of the good weather while it's still here."

"Sure, why not?" Fluffy replied nonchalantly. "Maybe we'll get to meet some trainers and battle a bit. I get the feeling that we need to toughen up for the next Gym Leader when xe comes."

"I also had that on my mind," Sir Majestic Tail agreed. "Although the weather is so nice right now..."

Eventually, they'd woven their way around the city to get to Route 35. The route was bordered by trees, as were many routes in the Johto region, and there was a reed-lined pond off to the side, where many people had gathered to swim. As a result, the route itself was almost devoid of trainers, and most of them were playing with their Pokémon rather than battling.

_Maybe when we get back to Goldenrod, _Flame thought, _Julia can take us to the beach or something like that. And now we're going to the park! That's a definite plus of having been swapped with Chiki – Noah would never have let me have any fun!_

All of a sudden, thoughts of Chiki and Noah crowded her mind and no matter how hard she tried to push them away in favour of happier thoughts, she couldn't stop thinking about them. Chiki had gotten the short end of the stick when they were switched, and now he was stuck with a trainer who not only cared for nothing more than battling, but who was also a part of the most twisted criminal group of all time. It didn't matter what Flame told herself; she felt a strong sense of guilt. Julia wasn't her trainer – just a temporary one – and the bliss would end someday, likely sooner than later, when Flame was returned to Noah.

She glanced up at Julia, who was walking along cheerfully beside Fluffy. The sheep Pokémon was yakking on about how Julia's abilities as an electric type could be unlocked, though she seemed like she had no idea what she was talking about. A little ways ahead, Sir Majestic Tail was watching the scenery around them in awe, and he glanced back to mention a particularly extraordinary Venomoth he saw to Fluffy.

_I'll have to leave my friends, too,_ Flame realized sadly. _I mean, they may be kinda weird, but I've really taken a liking to them. Julia, please don't ever run into that jerk Noah again!_

They entered the gate that lead to National Park, and after a warning from an attendant about not battling within the park, they were allowed in. Beneath their feet was cobblestone, and the path went down a short walkway before it expanded into a large, circular area. The patches of grass and flowers in the circular area and the large fountain in the centre made the shape of a Poké Ball. Many people walked along the paths, some in chatty groups and others pushing along strollers.

"Well, guys, go on ahead!" Julia told her Pokémon. "Why don't we meet back at the entrance in about half an hour?"

"Alright!" Flame called out, then dashed off. She could hear Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail running behind her, but they went off in a different direction. A breeze caught some of the petals of the flowers and sent them dancing in the breeze, giving Flame an idea. She walked around the carefully planted flower bushes until she found a rose bush. Using her claw, she cut off one of the nicer red roses and cradled it gently in her paws.

_I'll give this one to Julia! _she decided, beginning to head back. _She'd look really pretty with it in her hair!_

Something made her halt and Flame looked around her, getting the chills. There was an aura somewhere nearby that was making her feel uneasy, an aura of something sinister. Then she spotted a gap in the white picket fence that surrounded the park and, swallowing, squeezed in through it.

Thick groups of trees enclosed the fence, but there was a narrow path through them a bit farther down. Flame wove in and out of the tree stumps then froze when she heard voices a little ways further in the woods. She edged nearer and pricked up her ears to hear them better.

"...won't happen again. I was K.O.'ed in a monster house and – "

"I don't care how it happened, but I was ready and you weren't! Don't make excuses for yourself!"

Trembling, Flame tried to look around the trunk of the tree she was hiding behind, but she decided it was too risky. She couldn't be certain, but those voices definitely sounded like Fluffy's and Jerome's.

"Please, sir, she only made this one small error! She has done nothing wrong!"

And that was Sir Majestic Tail.

"Shut the hell up! You had the perfect opportunity to kill Julia when we ambushed her at Bugsy's fort! I'm starting to think you're not really committed to this!"

_Kill Julia? Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail teamed up with Jerome to kill Julia?!_

Suddenly, Jerome paused and his tone changed. "I thought you said you weren't followed!"

"We were not! Is there someone there? If there is, spare the Ponyta!"

Unsure of whether to be terrified or furious, Flame stepped out from behind her hiding spot. Within a minute, she would greatly regret that decision and wish she had run.

Jerome was standing in front of Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail with his arms folded. Oddly, he was out of his Team Fury clothes and in regular street wear. It made him almost look...normal. But he smiled a twisted smile and psychically raised Flame in the air with the wave of a hand. The was the feeling of a hand loosely holding her neck and she began to struggle.

"F-Flame?!" Fluffy gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "Wait, this isn't what it – "

"You traitors!" Flame spat in fury, igniting her flames. "How could you join this bastard?! Against Julia?!"

Chuckling darkly, Jerome walked towards the helpless Flame and raised her to his eye height. "You just can't resist meddling, can you, Flame?" He noticed the fallen rose and bent to pick it up. "Was this for your trainer? Aw, what a little sweetheart you are. Julia would have loved it." Smugly, he dropped it to the ground and crushed the flowerhead with the tip of his boot. Then he turned and walked away, his cape fluttering behind him. Flame was dropped an instant later, to her surprise.

"I know what you're thinking," Jerome said. "You can't let me leave, and I can't let you leave. But it would be so cliché if the two of us fought it out in front of your former friends, wouldn't it?" He turned and waved an arm at Fluffy. "I've found a way for you to earn back my trust, dearie. Kill her."

Fluffy shook her head, glancing from Flame to Jerome. "I can't do that! She's my friend and I – "

"Whose side are you on?" Jerome asked calmly. "Of course. It was always their side. You lied to me, didn't you? Or did you?"

Swallowing, Fluffy, clenched her fists and stepped in front of Jerome, facing Flame. "I'm sorry, Flame, but if this is the way it's gotta be..." She narrowed her eyes as sparks began to fly from her fluffy collar. "So be it."

"Fluffy, don't – !"

Without warning, Fluffy darted forwards and tackled Flame off her feet, punching her repeatedly with an electrified fist. Flame shot embers into her eyes and kicked her away with her hind paws, then hopped up off the ground.

"Don't do it, please!" Flame yelled at her as Fluffy began to shoot bolts of electricity at her. "You can't be with Jerome!" Tears gathered in her eyes, and she rolled up to strike Fluffy with Flame Wheel. She missed, but used Lava Plume the second she leapt to her paws.

The attack hit all of Fluffy, as well as the end of her tail, which stored electricity in it. Electricity burst from it and crashed upon her, causing her to scream in pain. The sound made Flame feel terribly sickened, but Fluffy fainted within seconds. Sir Majestic Tail had also been struck by the powerful lightning and he fell to his side, whimpering.

That left just Jerome.

"Impressive," he commented, taking hold of Flame in a psychic grip again. "Too bad it was all for nothing."

He reached out a hand, from which blades of psychic energy flew. They struck at Flame with such power that they caused blood to spurt from wherever they hit. She was too out of breath to cry out, but the pain was excruciating. Jerome strode towards her and jabbed at her wounds with his bare hand. All Flame could do was wail softly, tears streaming down her face.

"Prepare to die, you little – " Suddenly, Jerome cut himself off in mid-sentence and pulled his hand back sharply, as if he had been stung. He gripped the hand with his other hand, his eyes slowly widening.

"No...no..." He dropped to his knees, still staring at the blood on his fingers.

"NOOO!"

Flame was dropped and she fell on her back. Biting the inside of her cheek against the waves of pain, she scrambled away from Jerome as far as she could manage.

"I can't have...I wouldn't..." He grabbed his head with his hands and began to breathe heavily. "Stop it! Stop it! AAAGHH!"

He stood up shakily and backed away from Flame, holding up his hands defensively. "I'm sorry! Oh, Arceus, please believe me! I'm so sorry!" His expression was one of sheer horror and even fear. Flame got to her paws, gritting her teeth, and edged her way around him. This had to be some sort of trick. Jerome wasn't Doctor Jekyll. He was trying to trick her.

"Don't hurt me, please! I didn't – I wasn't trying to – !" Jerome screamed and grabbed his head again, screwing up his face. "This isn't my fault! I don't want this! What's happening to me?!"

Something felt off to Flame. His voice sounded strained and ragged, like he really was in agony, and what he was saying disturbed her.

"Stay away from me!" he screamed, backing away. "I don't want to hurt you! Please, run! Run away and get help! Get – " He never finished his sentence, for he broke into hysterics and teleported away. Flame dropped to her paws and realized that she was shaking. Silence fell over the forest and she began to cry.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey, can I admit something? I...I'm not a big fan of going to the beach. *disbelieving protests* *rotten tomatoes go flying***

**Alright, alright, calm down. I'd just rather spend my time writing where it's cool. And...all that sand... *shudder***

**Speaking of sand, enjoy the chapter! If you have any suggestions, leave 'em in the reviews section for me to find – "It's like Christmas!" – as well as any criticism you have for the chapter.**

**As usual, enjoy!**

* * *

"So it was a Pokémon named Grovyle!" Sunflora exclaimed, putting her hands to her face. "Oh my gosh! Well, now we know!"

Julia felt weak, but she forced herself to stay standing. She could sense Flame's stare burning into her. Silently, she begged Arceus for him to not expose her to everyone, and her prayers must have been answered, for Flame said nothing yet.

Everyone milled about the poster, shouting obscenities at Grovyle until Chatot forced them to back away. They fell back into lines and waited for further instruction.

"Uxie may not have wanted our help before, but now it's evident that interference is necessary." Raising his voice, Chatot went on, "And we will help stop that Grovyle, no matter the cost!"

Before anyone could say anything to that, Wigglytuff began to tremble, pulling his ears down over his face.

"Hey hey hey! Is he gonna start crying?!" Corphish yelped, hurrying backwards. The ground started to shake as well and the guild members backed up as well.

"Yoom...TAH!"

When they looked up, Wigglytuff wore a fierce expression and his paws were balled into fists.

"That terrible thief is causing time to stop!" he yelled. "And because of him, the beautiful view of Fogbound Lake is ruined! Everyone! Let's put our all into stopping Grovyle!"

"YEAH!" everyone cheered in response, pumping their fists in the air enthusiastically. Julia kept her eyes down as she did this. She didn't want to see Flame's expression, not yet.

Chatot continued from where he left off. "It's reasonable to assume that Grovyle will next show up where there is another Time Gear. Now, we don't know where the others are, but Wigglytuff and I shall confer and come up with places that may house a Time Gear."

"Chatot, if I may," Dusknoir began, floating forwards. "I believe I understand your situation now. I will also assist you in capturing Grovyle."

"That's mighty kind of you, Dusknoir!" Bidoof piped up, beaming.

"It's GOOD to KNOW you're on our side!" Loudred added.

"I may have some ideas about where Time Gears are situated," Dusknoir added. "If you would allow me, I can help you with that."

Wigglytuff blinked, apparently in surprise, and replied, "Th-thank you, o great and powerful Dusknoir!" He smiled, but his determination was still behind it. "Everyone! Go get ready to leave and we will split you into groups once we have some places chosen!"

The guild members cheered again and headed out of the guild to Treasure Town.

"Hey, Flame!" Bidoof called out. "Want to join us? We're just about to head over to the Kecleon Market and see if they have any good items!"

"In a moment," Flame replied, waving at him. After Bidoof vanished upstairs, Flame went down the other ladder and beckoned to Julia. Nervously, she followed him.

Once they were in their room, Flame stayed quiet for a long time, turned away from Julia and staring out the window. Finally, he turned around with his eyes closed and his paws folded.

"So. You've had plenty of time to think of an excuse." He lowered his head a little bit. "It would be redundant to ask, wouldn't it?" Flame looked so empty, so hollow, and his eyes were closed tightly as if he was trying not to cry.

"I – I honestly didn't know! Flame, please believe me! I wouldn't be on the side of Grovyle, not ever!"

"Yeah, right!" Flame snapped, his back bursting into flames. "You'd never met the guy, and you defended him? You even said it yourself – he looked so suspicious that you followed him all the way to the top of Steam Cave!"

"If I was working with him, why would I have found him suspicious at all?!" Julia retaliated, forcing herself not to burst into angry tears. "And I'd never want to steal Time Gears! Think of all the Pokémon that are frozen there for all eternity! As if I'd want that!"

"I don't know! I don't know anything about you! You told me that you forgot everything, but I think you're lying! I bet you just did that to get to Uxie and tell him not to suspect Grovyle!"

The tears came and Julia burst out, "Why would I lie to you, Flame?!" Silence followed, broken only by Julia's sobs. Flame opened his eyes a little to look at her, and he was also on the verge of tears.

"I want to believe you. I really do. But this is...there's too much evidence against you. It's after you arrived that all this bad stuff started happening."

Julia had no reply to that. Her ears drooped and her tail had dropped to the ground. If Flame didn't believe her, who would?

"Please...just trust me..." she choked out softly. Flame stared at her, then squeezed his eyes shut, causing tears to roll down his face.

"Fine," he murmured, "I trust you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have – " He stopped himself, then ran forwards and hugged Julia tightly. "I l...I'll never doubt you again, okay?" Flame managed to smile at her, and Julia smiled back.

"Thank you."

For a while, they sat on their bed, staring out the window at the pale blue sky. A mail Pelipper flew by, then a Swellow a few minutes later. It felt nice to just sit and watch the sky as clouds rolled by slowly. It was a sky that Julia wanted to protect more than anything. So that all Pokémon could look up at it and feel the warmth of the sun on their pelts and enjoy watching the clouds. If the remaining two Time Gears were stolen, time would stop and the sky would become black forever.

After they both had calmed down completely, they headed upstairs, where almost all the guild members were gathered already. Once everyone was present, Chatot and Wigglytuff came forwards to address them.

"Now, then," Chatot began, "Guildmaster Wigglytuff, Dusknoir, and I have discussed and we have marked a few areas that may have Time Gears. We will split you into three groups, and you may set off right away. Diglett, Corphish, Perry, and Chimecho, I would like you to head over to the Eastern Forest; Bidoof, Lucky, Sunflora, and Dugtrio, you three will go to Crystal Cave; and Julia, Flame, Loudred, and Croagunk, you will go to Northern Desert. Once you are prepared, please head out immediately. That is all."

Flame groaned, but Julia didn't see what was so bad about their arrangement. Loudred was friendly, if not a bit loud, and Croagunk was...well, admittedly, he did freak the crap out of her, but perhaps he was nice once you got to know him. And the Northern Desert didn't sound too bad.

"Ground types," Flame muttered to her, and Julia suddenly understood. Three of them were weak to ground types.

"HEY, Flame, Julia!" Loudred called out at them once the room had cleared out. "You never DID join us at the Kecleon Market!" He waggled his eyebrows at them suggestively. "What WERE you two DOING?"

Flame blushed madly and Julia could feel her face burning as well. "Nothing!" Flame insisted. "Geez, you pervert! You keep assuming that we 'did' something!"

Chuckling, Loudred waved an arm and headed up the ladder. Croagunk made eye contact with Julia and, surprisingly, shot her a sympathetic glance.

"Ah know what it's like when everyone assumes yer always doin' somethin' dirty," he whispered to her. "Not a pleasant experience, ah can tell ya."

The trek to Northern Desert was a long one. They were not even halfway there when night fell, and they had to stay in an abandoned den of some Pokémon for the night. It was cramped and Flame and Julia ended up smushed together between Loudred and Croagunk. When Loudred woke them up in the morning with an excruciatingly loud, "UP AND AT 'EM! It's MORNING!" he proceeded to tease them extensively about the suggestive way Julia's tail had somehow ended up between Flame's legs.

They had eaten over half of their apples by the time they reached the desert, even though Flame had gone out hunting and ate his own lunch. Going through the desert was generally unpleasant, as well. Shortly after they entered the Northern Desert, a raging sandstorm started up and buffeted the four of them. It was impossible for Julia to do so little as open her mouth to speak without getting a mouthful of sand. At the same time, the Rhyhorns and Lairons who made the desert their home were completely unperturbed by the sand and attacked without relent. Julia was virtually helpless to do anything; the Rhyhorns attracted and absorbed her electric attacks, and she wasn't physically strong enough to slam into the enemies to deal damage.

It didn't help that Loudred's favourite attacks involved making loud noises that damaged the wild Pokémon. Between the sandstorm and the frequent loud shouts, Julia figured she could go blind, deaf, and mute in no time. The sandstorm did eventually die out, and by then, Loudred had a sore throat and could no longer use vocal attacks. Travelling with him was everything Sunflora said it was – he took on Tyranitars single-handedly and ended up fainting and forcing Flame to use Reviver Seeds on him; he ran ahead into monster houses and yelled at the others to jump in and save his butt; and he was insufferably chatty. The moment the sand stopped blowing, he began complaining about the heat and yelling about how he was going to mess up that Grovyle the next time he saw him.

In contrast, Croagunk was nearly silent, only ever making passing comments about how long the trip was taking or that another Vibrava was approaching from behind. Julia took a liking to his calm disposition and the way he waited until a wild Pokémon approached him close enough for him to attack before actually doing so. It was the exact opposite to what Loudred did.

"Well, we're down from eight Reviver Seeds to two," Flame sighed when they stopped in a sheltered rocky area for a lunch break. "Loudred, you really need to think before you rush into battles. Heck, you're not even weak to ground types and none of us have fainted!"

"Don't be so STINGY with those Reviver Seeds!" Loudred scoffed, taking a big bite out of an apple. "And TRY to be a BIT more fearless! Jump forth INTO battle instead of ALWAYS running away!"

"When it's a Tyranitar, then yeah, I'm running!" Flame shot back. "We're only halfway through the desert! If you faint now, we'll have to teleport you out of here and we'll have to go back to Treasure Town to restock our items."

Loudred just shrugged to that and finished off his apple. "So, Julia, Croagunk, how are YOU two holding up? You've been fairly QUIET this whole time."

"I have to say, fighting all these Pokémon has gotten me really tired," Julia admitted. "I just hope that we find something at the end of this mystery dungeon."

"An' even if we find nothin'," Croagunk added, "there's still the consolation that we've helped Wigglytuff an' Chatot t' narrow down the list of potential Time Gear locations."

After lunch, they set off again. Julia kept the thought in her mind that they were on the home stretch and that they'd see a bright orb of shining light any second now. However, the trek dragged on for longer than she'd wanted, and the sandstorm started up again. They we lucky not to run into any more monster houses, but Loudred did faint one more time to an unexpected Hippopotas that rose from the sand in front of him and decimated him with a single blast.

"THAT one WASN'T my fault!" Loudred protested when everyone gave him glares afterwards. "He just POPPED outta NOWHERE!"

Finally, the wind stopped again and they came to the end of the dungeon. Instead of coming to a Time Gear, they were greeted by swirling pits of sand.

"Loudred, hold up jes a minute!" Croagunk called out when Loudred approached one of the pits to investigate. "These pits here appear to be quicksand pits. If ye were to get too close t' one of 'em, you could be dragged in!"

Loudred stopped and scowled at him, but backed up nevertheless. "So, what, then? We at a DEAD end?"

"Looks like it," Flame agreed sadly. "We can't get past these pits without the danger of falling in."

But something felt odd to Julia. Raising her tail in the air, she looked around, trying to figure out what was making her so uncomfortable.

_This place...I feel almost like I've been here before. _It was the same as the sensation she had felt at Foggy Forest – that she had already been there. Julia shook her head. _No, that can't be. I'd never even heard of the Northern Desert before yesterday, so I can't have been here. So why am I feeling like this?_

"Come on, guys," Flame sighed, pulling out his explorer badge, "let's get out of here. We'd better report our findings to Chatot and Wigglytuff." Reluctantly, the others also pulled out their badges and they teleported away.

* * *

"WHAT?! NOBODY found ANY Time Gears?!"

When the final group returned to the guild that evening with the report that nothing had been found, murmurs of shock and confusion, and shouts of "Oh, come ON!" could be heard amongst the guild members.

"Settle down, everyone!" Chatot squawked, flapping about furiously. "I would like to hear each group explain what they discovered in turn. Corphish, your group was the last to arrive. Would you mind explaining in detail what you found in Eastern Forest?"

"Hey hey hey!" Corphish said, looking at him crossly. "I already said it! There's nothing there but trees! We searched the forest through and through, and we found nothing, hey hey!"

Shaking his head, Chatot continued, "Sunflora? Did you find anything in the Crystal Cave?"

"Not really, no," she replied. "But, eek, was it ever beautiful! Oh my gosh, there we so many crystals!"

"Wow, it really was pretty!" Lucky agreed. "It was so pretty, that I decided to grab one of those crystals for myself!" He pulled a violet-hued crystal from his bag and waved it around so everyone could see. Perry covered his face with a wing and Sunflora didn't seem very pleased either.

"Oh my gosh, you actually took a crystal? While we were supposed to be looking for a Time Gear?!"

"We never saw him take it," Dugtrio commented. "Impressive thievery, Lucky."

"That's enough!" Chatot interrupted. "So you found nothing, either, Loudred?"

"Nothing at ALL! Just some QUICKSAND pits and LOTS of SAND!"

Chatot began to pace, then he stopped and looked up at Dusknoir. "We're terribly sorry, Dusknoir. You so brilliantly helped us come up with some locations, but we failed you."

"Goodness, no!" Dusknoir reassured him. "They were only suggestions. In fact, it was my fault. I should have known the region better. We can come up with some other ideas tonight."

The guild members were excused and sent off to bed, for Chimecho had not made dinner due to being out exploring until late. Nobody was really hungry, anyways; the disappointment of not having found anything took away their appetites. Julia and Flame had lain down on their bed and were about to go to sleep when Julia remembered something.

"Flame," she began, sitting up, "there's something I need to tell you about the Northern Desert."

"Did you have another Dimensional Scream or something?" Flame asked, also sitting up anxiously.

"No, but..." Julia paused, wondering if it was even worthy of mentioning it, then said, "When we got to the quicksand pits, I got the same feeling that I did in Foggy Forest."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"I felt like I'd been there before. I don't know, I mean, I can't have been there, but it was just really familiar and – "

Flame got to his feet excitedly and grabbed his bag. "Say no more! Actually, you could have told us that earlier, while we were still there, but whatever! Let's go!"

"What, now?!"

He nodded, offering a paw to her, which she took. "In the morning, Wigglytuff, Chatot, and Dusknoir will have a bunch of new locations for us that we'll have to go to, and I doubt they'd understand if we tell them that we're disobeying them because of a 'feeling' you had. Plus, if that place really has a Time Gear, Grovyle might steal it as early as tonight! We might already be too late as it is!"

"H-hang on," Julia stammered in a soft voice out of fear of waking someone up as Flame dragged her down the hall, "why would we go there just because of that feeling? Now that you've said it, it does seem kind of ludicrous."

Flame stopped at the base of the ladder and looked her in the eye. "I think that it might be a side effect of having the Dimensional Scream. If you got it in Foggy Forest, where there was a Time Gear, I think it's safe to say that you can tell where there's a Time Gear."

"I don't think it's safe to say!" Julia protested, climbing after him frantically. "Look, we're gonna get into lots of trouble! Chatot will be guarding the entrance, and – "

"No, he won't." Flame smiled at Julia and winked. "It's too cold for him, remember? He'll be sleeping downstairs. We've already gotten past him."

They scurried up the second ladder and, as Flame had said, Chatot was absent. Julia scrambled after Flame, who was picking up speed as he ran on ahead. There was no stopping him now.

That was, until they both got tired and fell asleep in a bush en route to the Northern Desert. Morning arrived and Flame was off again. At this point, Julia figured there was no point in going back to the guild now. They would be scolded severely and probably banned from leaving the guild. It was better now to be gone for longer and possibly stop the Time Gears from being stolen than go back empty-pawed.

It was even more difficult than before to get through the desert without companions, but they were careful enough to never run into any monster houses and they ran from enemies who were too powerful. By the time they reached the end of the dungeon, it was only the late afternoon but they were both drenched in sweat, both from the heat and the difficulty of the dungeon. Once again, all that was at the end of the dungeon were several swirling pits of sand.

"Well, Julia?" Flame prompted. "Do you feel it?"

She closed her eyes and concentrated. The feeling was faint, but definitely still there.

"Yeah," she replied, opening her eyes again, "I still feel like I've been here before. But...there's nothing here. Just some pits of sand. Dammit, Flame, this was a terrible idea! We aren't going to find anything here!"

"Don't be like that," Flame told her, pouting. "Think! What did you do in Foggy Forest to discover the Time Gear?"

"I found a rock and put it in a statue of Groudon, then went up a big rock formation. This is totally different! There's nothing here but – "

Then it came to her and she covered her face with a paw. "Alright, this is going to sound crazy – well, this whole thing is crazy, so it shouldn't matter – but I think we need to jump into the quicksand pits."

Flame's eyes widened and he shook his head. "That _is_ crazy! Into the pits? We're gonna get buried alive if we do that!"

"The sand has to be falling to somewhere," Julia reasoned, "and, frankly, it's the only thing I can think of right now. It does seem like something that a guardian of a Time Gear would do to hide it!"

He looked at the pits doubtfully. "I really don't know about this, Julia..."

"Think of Blackfire Crater," Julia reminded him. "It seemed crazy then, too, but it worked out in the end, right? Well..." She reconsidered that one. "Sort of."

"And when I thought you might have gone into Steam Cave, that was just a crazy thought then, too. But if I hadn't gone, you might have died there to Groudon. And even coming here has just been a massive guess..." Flame gave Julia a hopeful smile. "You might just be right. And if it's between doing something crazy and dangerous and letting Grovyle steal all the Time Gears, then there's no way I'm not taking that chance!"

"So, are we going in, then?"

"Yeah, I guess we are. I've trusted you this whole time, and I will in this as well. It's true that bad stuff has happened ever since you got here...but I'm glad that it's with you that I'm getting through it." He clasped her paw tightly and Julia couldn't help but turn red in the face.

"Thank you," she murmured, beaming back at him. "Out of all the Pokémon in the world that could have found me that day on the beach, I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone but you." She nuzzled his cheek, then put on a determined expression. "Let's do this!"

"Three...two...one...now!"

They both ran and leapt in at the same time. Their legs were dragged down into the sand the moment they touched down, and within seconds, Julia could see nothing more.

* * *

"Wake up, Julia!"

Flame prodded Julia anxiously until she blearily opened her eyes.

"Wh-where are we?" she asked, before coughing and spitting up sand. "Yuck! It feels like I just swallowed a tonne of dirt!"

"Gross, isn't it?" Flame agreed. "But take a look! You were right when you said we should jump down!"

They were in a large cave with dark walls and sand all over the floor. From the ceiling, thin streams of sand fell onto large piles. Julia got to her feet and looked around, then hugged Flame excitedly.

"This is great, Flame! An underground cave? Even if we find nothing down here and get into tons of trouble with Chatot, this is an incredible discovery!"

"It's more than that." Flame pointed at a gap in the wall. "I checked down there before you woke up, and it looks like a mystery dungeon! We'd better check that out, too!"

They left with no hesitation, but Flame was feeling uneasy about this whole thing. They had thought about how they would get out of Blackfire Crater; however, it was different this time. If there was no way out, they couldn't expect to come back up from how they came, nor could anyone see them. In fact, the guild probably wouldn't even know where to begin looking for them. They could have gone anywhere.

_Oh Arceus, please let there be a way out!_ Flame prayed desperately. They wouldn't survive down there for too long if there wasn't.

The Pokémon in the area were vicious, but there were far fewer of them. Flame only stumbled into a monster house once, and Julia had a Foe-Fear Orb, one of the commercially available orbs that caused any enemy Pokémon to become terrified of the user.

After a while, the mystery dungeon opened up into a massive cavern with pointed stalactites hanging from the ceiling. In front of them spanned a great lake with a mirror-like, undisturbed surface.

"This is amazing!" Flame exclaimed, his eyes glimmering in awe. "Look at the size of this lake!"

Julia nodded her agreement, then approached the edge of the lake. "Take a look over there! There's something glowing in the middle of the lake!" Flame joined her by the edge and spotted it immediately.

"Is – is that a Time Gear?!"

The green-blue glow emanating from a point in the centre of the lake was, without a doubt, from a Time Gear. The Time Gear was as beautiful on its own as the last one Flame saw at Fogbound Lake, but it somehow didn't invoke the same feeling upon him. Perhaps it was because it was so eerily quiet down here.

Suddenly, a pink object burst from the lake and sped towards them, readying a psychic type attack. Flame had only a second to dodge, and the attack came way too close for his comfort.

"Don't you dare touch the Time Gear!" the Pokémon cried out, holding up another attack. She looked very similar to Uxie; her blue-grey body and twin tails with a red gem embedded on each were nearly identical to his. The only difference was that her face and four drooping antennae were magenta.

"We're not!" Julia protested, jumping away from the attack. "We've come to stop the thief!"

"My foot!" The pink being floated from side to side with wide, hate-filled eyes. "Uxie told me via telepathy that his Time Gear was stolen and that he was deceived by a female Pikachu and her Cyndaquil partner!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Flame saw Julia's ears and tail droop in misery and he yelled at the Pokémon, "She didn't mean to help the thief! It was a mistake!"

"Like hell it was! You two ought to rot in the pits of the Distortion World!" She shot another attack at Julia and the Pikachu was thrown by the force of the blast.

"Julia!" Flame ran to her side, but she was already getting up. "We have no choice but to fight her!"

"We can't! We'll only incriminate ourselves more!"

Another explosive blast struck the ground right in front of them, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.

"No! She'll knock us out if we don't fight back, or worse! If she's anything like Uxie..."

Julia seemed to remember that, and she reluctantly nodded. Turning to face the Pokémon, she charged up a Thunderbolt and struck her powerfully. The attack paralyzed the foe and she dropped to the ground, writhing against it. Hitting her a few more times seemed to be enough to stop her from trying to fight back.

"Listen to us!" Flame said to her, clenching his fists. "We would never try to take Time Gears! We know how important they are to this world! She just made a mistake in her judgement, that's all! We'll leave right now if you want us to, but please believe us!"

"No..." The Pokémon clutched at her side, struggling to float back up. "I'll never...help those who work with Grovyle!"

"Then you have no need to worry, Mesprit, do you?"

The new, deep voice came from behind them. Julia's ears instantly pricked up and she turned her head at the same time as Flame. From the shadows stepped a Grovyle.

"I work alone."

"That can't be!" Mesprit exclaimed, gnashing her teeth. "But the Pikachu – "

"Saw me briefly for the first time in Foggy Forest, yes. I have no affiliation with her whatsoever."

_Grovyle's here?! But Mesprit is too weak to fight him now!_

"We won't let you take that Time Gear!" Flame yelled at him, the flames on his back igniting. "You'll have to fight us to get to it!"

Grovyle shook his head and replied, "I apologize now for what I must do to you. I have no quarrel with any of you." Like a bolt of lightning, he burst forwards and struck down Flame with his claws.

_He's too fast! I didn't even get a chance to attack!_

When Grovyle jumped into the lake, Flame could see that Julia also sprawled on the ground. He struggled to get to his paws, then looked out over the lake. Grovyle was a fast swimmer and he was already halfway to the Time Gear.

"I...apologize," Mesprit managed to say, looking pained. "I should have...heard you out... Now he's going to get the Time Gear..."

The ground began to rumble and shake and the light from the Time Gears that had illuminated the cave was extinguished. Mesprit flew back from the lake in horror.

"It's – time is stopping! We need to get out of here, now!"

As Flame stared at the lake, he could see it becoming grey from the centre where the Time Gear was. And that greyness was spreading.

_So that's what it looks like when time stops?! _he realized, the hairs on the back of his neck pricking up. Quickly, he began rummaging through his bag for his and Julia's explorer badges so they could teleport out of there, but Mesprit began to glow with a pink light that enveloped Flame and Julia both.

The next thing Flame knew, they were back outside in the desert in front of the quicksand pits. Mesprit instantly fell to the ground, panting hard.

"Run, you two," she begged weakly. "The area of stopped time will only continue to grow, and it will soon engulf this place. If you're caught in a place where time has stopped, you will be unable to move as well!"

"There they are!"

Suddenly, the entire guild and Dusknoir was upon them, led by a very excited Lucky.

"Wow, you guys ran off to a stinky old desert? Who would have thunk?" he woofed excitedly. Chatot shushed him then flew right over to Flame and Julia.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he squawked furiously. "You both ran off in the middle of the night and now you're here? Explain yourselves!"

"We – " Julia began, but Mesprit cut her off.

"Everyone needs to leave now! Grovyle has stolen the Time Gear I protect and time in this area will soon come to a halt! I'll explain everything later!"

Dusknoir came forwards, looking grave. "She is right. This area is no longer safe. We must leave at once."

Glancing at Chatot briefly, Wigglytuff pulled out a special Guildmasters' badge from behind his back. He held it up and it began to glow. Within seconds, everyone was standing back at the entrance of the guild, badly startling a Murkrow and a Shuppet who were trying to enter the guild.

"Everyone, let's head in!" Wigglytuff called out, and rushed down the ladder with everyone else at his heels. Once they were all inside, Wigglytuff and Chatot came to the front of the room and beckoned to Mesprit to come to them.

"First of all," Mesprit began, floating next to Wigglytuff, "my name is Mesprit, and I – "

"Nice to meet you, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff interrupted her to shake her hand vigourously. Looking at him awkwardly, Mesprit continued.

"I guard the Underground Lake's Time Gear, and when I heard from my brother, Uxie, that his Time Gear had been stolen, I became much more protective of my Time Gear. So when these two came to the lake, I assumed they were allied with the thief and attacked them."

"Hey, missus, how did you hear from Uxie?" Lucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He can communicate with me through telepathy. Now, as I was saying, I attacked them, which forced them to attack me back. Grovyle must have been waiting nearby for an opportunity to leap in, and after he took out both of them, he swam into the lake and stole my Time Gear. I don't know how they knew that there was a Time Gear here, but they tried to help me. I'm sorry, both of you."

Before Flame could begin to tell her that it was okay, Chatot piped up, "Yes? And how did you two know?"

Flame and Julia exchanged a fearful glance. It was time to admit to the guild Julia's ability.


	29. Chapter 29

**Tuesday's chapter was on Monday, Friday's was on Saturday... Eh, I'm sure it all balances out. Enjoy, review, critique, blah blah blah.**

* * *

Fluffy emerged from her Poké Ball and blinked. She was with Flame, Sir Majestic Tail, and Julia in the lobby of the Pokémon Centre and Flame was glaring at her while Julia looked at her in concern.

"Fluffy, are you alright?" she asked. "Flame told me what happened with Jerome."

"Uh, she did?" Fluffy fidgeted a little bit but tried not to show her nervousness. If Julia knew...

"Yes, she did. I don't know what's wrong with that guy or why he keeps showing up, but I guess it means that you'll have to stick closer to me until the police sort out this Team Fury issue."

That was unexpected. Fluffy thought that Julia would kick her to the curb or yell at her, or even just ask why she'd betrayed them.

Beckoning with an arm, Julia told all of them, "Come on, let's go get some ice cream! Y'know, that place we went to yesterday?" Reluctantly, Fluffy followed her, glancing at Sir Majestic Tail briefly. He looked as guilty as heck.

"Hey, Fluffy," Flame hissed at her, coming near to her, "I just told her that Jerome attacked us. I need to talk to you – privately. And don't you dare think about running away." Having said what she had to say, Flame dashed over to Julia to walk beside her. Fluffy sighed then tried to think of what the heck she could tell Flame to prove that she wasn't actually trying to betray them.

_But I attacked her,_ she remembered miserably. _She won't believe a word I say._

Even the ice cream didn't taste as sweet as usual and Sir Majestic Tail politely refused a cone. Julia did seem to be suspicious, but she, above anyone else, couldn't know about Fluffy's and Sir Majestic Tail's partnership with Jerome.

The day seemed to last forever, and once the sun had set and they were back in the Pokémon Centre, Fluffy just wanted to go straight to sleep. Of course, she knew very well that that wasn't an option. The moment Julia closed the bathroom door behind her to get changed and brush her teeth, Flame approached her with her ears pinned back.

"Look, I can explain..."

"You'd better." Leering, Flame jabbed a claw at her, just centimetres from her face. "What the hell are you doing, Fluffy? Why are you suddenly on Jerome's side?"

"I'm not!" Fluffy quickly lowered her voice, then went on, "Sir Majestic Tail and I just got mixed up with him."

"In a plot to kill Julia?! Yeah, you totally 'just got mixed up with him!' Tell me the truth!"

With a sigh, Fluffy replied, "Okay, I'm doing it so I can earn Jerome's trust. I want to know what's going on with Team Fury. Think about it! This might be our only chance to get inside information!" She put her paws on Flame's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "These guys are sick and twisted, and I know it. I'd never want to be a part of that. You believe me, don't you?"

Flame stared back at her, then broke eye contact. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But why couldn't you tell us?"

"Jerome appears to be capable of reading one's mind," Sir Majestic Tail pointed out, coming over to them. "If we had told the two of you...well, Arceus knows how well you would be able to keep your minds clear if we were forced to attack you."

"That's right!" Fluffy agreed. "Then he'd know that we'd told you and that we were lying to him."

"I get it," Flame replied, though she still sounded doubtful. She looked like she wanted to add something more, but the bathroom door opened and Julia emerged, wearing her pyjamas.

"Alright, guys. It's time to go to sleep." Flame went and turned off the lights, then hopped onto Julia's bed with her. Joining Sir Majestic Tail on the adjacent bed, Fluffy lay down and tried to make herself comfortable.

_I wonder how much of what I said she actually believed..._

* * *

Flame squinted, then shielded her eyes with her paw from the sandstorm. She was here again, at this desert place, and in front of her were the pits of quicksand.

_Come on, Flame, think! How do I get past these things?_

Suddenly, the pits stopped swirling and began to turn grey. Startled, Flame skittered backwards and ran away. The area of grey expanded behind her and wherever it touched, particles of blowing sand would stop and hang suspended in the air.

Ahead of Flame was a labyrinth made of sand and rocky walls, but she charged in anyways. Pokémon attacked her as she kept running, only to become trapped in the area of grey and freeze in place. Eventually, Flame emerged on the other side and paused to catch her breath and glance back. The grey had seemed to stop expanding for now. It was quite a sight – sand unmoving in the air, a Rhyhorn standing in midstep by the exit as if he was actually made of rock...

_What's going on? This never happened before! Why is everything frozen?_

_It's almost as if...time stopped..._

"It's begun."

The voice came out of nowhere, and Flame turned her head from side to side quickly.

"Who's there? Who said that?!"

There came no response, but Flame felt chilled to the bone. That voice had been deep and gave her an odd feeling; she felt hatred and terror at the same time.

_What is this?_ She sank to her paws, staring at the desert in misery. _Why am I getting these dreams?_

She closed her eyes tightly, and when she opened them, she was back on her bed. Once again, she was gripping Julia's hands and lying curled in towards her. However, this time, Julia looked like she was in pain and she was mumbling in her sleep.

"Wake up," Flame said to her, prodding her face with a paw. "Seriously, wake up!"

"Gah!"

Julia burst awake and, upon seeing Flame, began to shake.

"Sh-shit..."

"Julia, are you okay?! You were having a nightmare, I think!"

After a few seconds, Julia calmed down and slowed her breathing. "Damn...it was awful..."

"What is it? What did you dream about?"

Sitting up, Julia shook her head. "I was in a forest, and...and something happened... I can't remember now."

_I'm done with this,_ Flame thought, gritting her teeth. _I'm done with us lying to each other about our dreams. Who cares? It's just a dumb dream, anyways._

"Did time begin to stop?"

Julia stared at her for a moment, her eyes widening. "Y-yeah, I think so."

"Well, fuck me!" Flame stood up and clenched her fists. "Why the hell do we get the same dreams?! This is starting to piss me off!"

"What are you talking – "

"All of this enigma!" Facing Julia, Flame gave her a desperate look. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed it, too! For some reason, bizarre stuff has started happening around here – Ilex Forest and that mountain place are 'mystery dungeons,' Team Fury is doing insane stuff without wanting to, we're getting the same – "

"Hold up," Julia interrupted, frowning. "What did you say about Team Fury?"

"That they're crazy?"

"No, about them not wanting to do it?"

That was when it occurred to Flame that she hadn't told her about what Jerome said yet, though she was a bit baffled by Julia picking _that_ particular detail out of what she'd yelled.

"That's right! After Jerome attacked us, I think he was actually about to kill me, when..." Flame traced the places on her underbelly where she had been hit, now healed by the machine at the Pokémon Centre. "He suddenly started saying something about not wanting to be attacking me."

At this point, both Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail had woken up from Flame's yelling and they now were looking on in interest.

"How do you know he wasn't – "

"Because..." Flame closed her eyes and tried to remember the scene. "He...he was like a different person. He was staying stuff like, 'What's happening to me?' and, 'Please forgive me.' It was..." She didn't need to continue, for Julia was nodding and looking speculative.

"Do you think it perhaps could have been mind control?" Sir Majestic Tail suggested. That possibility had never occurred to Flame, but now that she heard it, it sounded likely.

"So everyone is being controlled?" Julia murmured. "Whoever's at the top has got to be powerful to control so many people. But that still doesn't answer the question of why."

That silenced everyone. Who on earth would want an army of powerful people killing off normal types?

The silence was interrupted by Julia's Pokégear ringing. She picked it up and spoke into it, "Hello?"

"Jules, it's me! You're still staying at the Pokémon Centre in Goldenrod, right?"

"Hi, Jordan," she sighed. "Yeah, I'm actually here right now. Why – "

"Great! I decided I'd surprise you and fly over – but I guess it's not a surprise anymore! Meet me in the lobby in about thirty seconds!"

"Wait, what?!"

Jordan had hung up.

Without hesitation, Julia tossed the Pokégear onto her bed and rushed out the door, pausing a moment to hold it open for her Pokémon. Sitting casually at one of the waiting tables in the lobby was Jordan with his legs crossed and tossing and catching a yellow Pokégear in the air with one hand. He glanced over and, spotting them, cracked a wide grin and waved.

"Oi, Jules, right here!" he called brightly. Flame pinned her ears back at the sight of his Quagsire sitting in the chair next to him, even though McMister looked like he was half-asleep. Nobody on Julia's team was well-equipped to fight him, and if he were to attack...

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked him as she stomped over. "You know I'm fine on my own!" Jordan almost immediately slipped an arm around her neck in a headlock and mussed up her hair – the process was so quick and smooth that Flame figured he must have done it a hundred times before. She would have shot Ember at him that instant if Julia didn't look so bored and exasperated.

"Of course, of course!" he chuckled, letting her go. "I just wanted to hang out with you for a day, maybe meet your Pokémon – oh, aren't they adorable!" He practically leapt at Flame and crouched in front of her, making cutesy faces. "You're even cuter in person! Now I know why Julia doesn't want you to go back to your other trainer!"

"Keep your voice down!" Julia snapped at him, going red in the face. "Her old trainer was abusive. That's why I'm not returning her!" Waving a hand at Julia dismissively, Jordan turned to Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail.

"And you two are adorable, too! Especially you, with the fluffy fur!" He patted Fluffy on the head, prompting her to blast him with Thunder. Just like Julia, however, Jordan shook it off like it was nothing. "Y'know, I once met this Emolga that did exactly the same thing! Why is it that electric types always attack their trainers and others, but no other types? I mean, getting burned would hurt just as much, if not more – "

Now looking slightly terrified of him, Fluffy hit him again with a far more powerful blast that also took out the light above them. Several of the patrons in the lobby stared at them and Nurse Joy shot them a venomous look, but Jordan just stood to his full height, laughing.

"Aw, that tickles! You are adorable!"

"Help," Fluffy hissed at Flame, her eyes wide. "This guy is a brick wall!"

Flame, who had never heard of a brick wall, just shrugged back at her. Shaking her head, Julia grabbed Jordan's arm and began to drag him outside.

"Look, you can't stay here," she said to Jordan, who gave her a dopey grin.

"Why not? This Flaaffy's already bonded with me!" As he spoke, McMister ambled out of the Pokémon Centre drowsily.

"Because...because..." Julia struggled to find a reason, then just said, "You can't! We're totally fine here without you!"

She was interrupted by Jordan poking her in the shoulder, zapping her with a spark of electricity.

_Of course! He's Julia's cousin, so he's also an electric type!_

"It's just for a day, okay?" Jordan gave her puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeeaaase?"

"No way – "

"And why not?" interrupted Sir Majestic Tail, lifting his muzzle. "I, myself, would love to become acquainted with this fine gentleman!"

_Fine gentleman? _Flame thought doubtfully. Jordan didn't even look like a fine gentleman – his hair was bright orange and resembled a small Tangela. Regardless, Sir Majestic Tail trotted over and bowed to Jordan respectfully.

"My name is Sir Majestic Tail," he introduced. Jordan played along and bowed back.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir! I'm Jordan, and this is my pal, McMister! He's the fanciest guy I know!"

Showing not even a trace of fear, Sir Majestic Tail lifted a hoof to McMister to shake. McMister slowly looked down at it, then looked back up, blinking slowly. Sir Majestic Tail took this as a sign to lower his hoof.

"How do you do, McMister?"

"I am, mmm, fine," mumbled the Quagsire in such a languid tone that Flame could barely understand him.

"Oh, Julia, these two seem quite alright to me!" Sir Majestic Tail said. "I see no reason to send either of them away!"

"Wha – ?!" Looking uncertain of whether she should be shocked or angry, Julia simply crossed her arms. "Fine. But you're only with us for – count it – ONE day, got it?" Jordan nodded obediently.

"We'll be good," he assured, "won't we, McMister?" McMister nodded in response. "See? Now, why don't we go out to a Miltank's for breakfast? They serve the best pancake breakfasts!" Without waiting for a reply, Jordan strutted off, whistling cheerfully as he did. Exchanging a glance with Julia, Flame followed him.


	30. Chapter 30

**This is a longer chapter. Also, Chapter 30! Woo! Thirty chapters and counting! Read, review, and, as always, enjoy!**

* * *

Julia released a deep breath. She had to tell the guild about her ability. There was no other way for her to explain how she knew about Mesprit's Time Gear.

"I have this ability that Dusknoir tells me is called the 'Dimensional Scream,'" she said. "Sometimes, I can touch something, and get a vision of the past or the future." Now that it was out, it was as if a massive weight had been taken off her back.

"What?!"

"That's CRAZY!"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Flapping his wings quickly to get the attention of everyone, Chatot burst out, "Don't say such ridiculous things! Dimensional Scream? That sounds like something out of a fairy tale!"

"That sounds cool!" Lucky woofed, running over to Julia and leaning over her in eagerness. "Can you fly, too? Perry can fly, but I guess that doesn't really count as a super power." He leaned in an whispered, "Just between you and me, that's all he really can do, and he can't even do it well! If they catch him – "

"That's enough, Lucky!" Chatot snapped, and the Riolu quickly hopped back over to his spot, where Perry shot him a glare and smacked him with his wing. "Julia, if you do not tell us the truth right this instant, I may have to expel you from the guild!"

Before Julia could protest that, Dusknoir came forwards and said, "No, she speaks the truth. There really exists such an ability as the Dimensional Scream. It is very rare, so it is almost unheard of. Julia, I assume you had a vision two days ago while you were at the Northern Desert?"

"That's right!" Flame agreed in Julia's place. That was odd. Why didn't he just tell the truth that it wasn't a vision but a feeling she got?

_Because that seems more suspicious,_ she answered for herself. _Who else but Flame would sneak out in the middle of the night on a feeling?_

"You should have TOLD us!" Loudred yelled at Julia. "THAT might have come in HANDY before – who knows, MAYBE we could have MADE it to the Time Gear in time to PREVENT it from being stolen!"

"Oh my gosh, don't say that!" Sunflora snapped, shoving him. "I bet you're just making her feel worse!"

"Then that is why you snuck out?" Chatot asked, still looking skeptical. Julia and Flame nodded, and he sighed. "Very well. Either way, you did discover the location of a Time Gear. It's a shame that the Time Gear was taken, but now there is only one location left."

"If I may?" Mesprit said, coming forwards. "Uxie is but one of my brothers. The other is Azelf."

"Brothers?" Lucky piped up again, only to be silenced by Perry, who simply shoved his wing into the Riolu's mouth. Mesprit was beginning to look annoyed by him.

"Yes. I said that earlier, did I not? Azelf is the other one. We can keep in communication through telepathy, but after that fight with those two – " She pointed one of her tails at Flame and Julia. " – and teleporting us out of the Underground Lake, I am too weak to communicate with him. I fear that something bad may have happened to him."

Dusknoir nodded, then asked, "Would you know whereabouts Azelf is located?"

"Um, I know the name of the lake he's at. It is called Crystal Lake."

_Crystal Lake... Could it have any connection to Crystal Cave?_

The others seemed to be thinking that as well, for they had begun whispering to one another about that cave. All of a sudden, Lucky dashed off downstairs.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Perry chirped at him in horror, then flew down after him. Moments later, Lucky reappeared, holding the crystal he had taken from the cave.

"Here, Julia!" he said, holding it out to her. "Try touching this and seeing if you get the Dimensional Scream!"

Something seemed a little off about Lucky today. Had someone given him too many pecha berries? Nevertheless, Julia took the cool crystal from his paws and waited for a Dimensional Scream to come. She was aware of everyone staring at her, their gazes boring straight into her.

"Well?" Diglett prompted. "Is that vision gonna come, or not? 'Cause if not, maybe I should go back on guard duty. But I'm still kind of eager to know what this Dimensional Scream in like. Oh, but suppose Grovyle comes in while I'm not on duty?! Then again, it might be a good thing, since we're all here and..."

Julia began to feel dizzy as the Dimensional Scream started, but she wouldn't be surprised if it were purely from Diglett's mind-numbing ramble. She briefly felt the sensation of losing her balance when she blacked out. A bright light pierced her mind, and she was suddenly looking at a floor that shone and gleamed like a crystal and was surrounded by water. There was a being who looked like both Mesprit and Uxie, but with a blue head and face. In front of him was Grovyle.

"You won't...I won't let you take the Time Gear," the being said, clutching at his stomach, which appeared to be bleeding badly. Grovyle turned and walked to the edge of the water, which now appeared to be much larger body of water than Julia had first thought.

"I apologize. I'd rather have not dragged you into this," Grovyle spoke, "but I must have that Time Gear, no matter the cost."

The other Pokémon collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. Then the vision faded and Julia awoke.

"...might be too strong for even all of us? But we have Wigglytuff on our side, plus Dusknoir! Oh, yeah, we'll be fine! Oh, no, better knock on wood now or I'll have jinxed it! Where's some wood?!"

It wasn't difficult for Julia to believe that Diglett could ramble through something as bizarre to everyone else as a Dimensional Scream.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Sunflora squeaked in horror. "You just fainted...eek!"

Julia could feel Flame's paws holding her up and she quickly got up to her feet, muttering to him a quick, "Thank you."

"So, whadja see?" Lucky asked excitedly, his eyes glimmering.

"A Pokémon...I think it may have been Azelf." Turning to the concerned-looking Mesprit, Julia asked, "Does he look like you, but more blue?"

"That's him!" Mesprit agreed. "Oh, no, what happened?!"

"He was, uh, bleeding. And Grovyle was about to steal the Time Gear."

There were collective gasps throughout the room, though Lucky looked completely unperturbed.

"So was it a vision of the past or the future?" Lucky asked, grinning. Mesprit shook her head sadly.

"I have no way of knowing. I cannot speak with Azelf telepathically right now. Perhaps, by the evening, I'll be strong enough to – "

"We may not have that much time," Dusknoir interrupted. "Since Julia's Dimensional Scream was triggered by a crystal from Crystal Cave, it is a safe bet that that is where Azelf is located. I believe that it would be best if we were to leave immediately."

"Um..." Chimecho began tentatively. "Well, suppose that it's already too late. I mean, what if that vision was of the past? Shouldn't some of us stay at the guild in case we need to fight Grovyle or deal with whatever scheme he's cooked up?"

Dusknoir closed his eye, then turned to Mesprit. "You said that Uxie contacted you through telepathy to tell you about his Time Gear being stolen, correct?"

She nodded, frowning. "So what you're saying is that Azelf would have told me if his Time Gear was stolen as well? However, what if he became too weak to relay that information, like myself?"

"If Grovyle steals the final Time Gear, there will be dire consequences. We cannot take any risks at this stage!"

"You are very correct, Dusknoir!" Chatot agreed. "If there is any chance whatsoever that we can prevent that from happening, then we ought to take it!" He faced everyone and put on a defiant smile. "Let's all go to Crystal Cave and stop Grovyle, once and for all! Guildmaster, please issue the call to duty!"

Wigglytuff's response was silence. He continued to stare forwards at nothing with a faint smile on his face. Looking slightly concerned, Chatot hopped over and flapped his wings in front of Wigglytuff's face.

"Guildmaster? Guildmaster?!" The room fell silent, and the sound of soft snoring could be heard. Sunflora slapped her face with a leaf hand while everyone else either broke into exasperated groans or giggles.

"Wow, he's actually asleep!" Lucky hissed at Perry with a snicker.

"Hey hey, how could the Guildmaster fall asleep during such an important discussion?"

"Eek, his eyes are wide open, though! Gross!"

"I wonder how MUCH of it he MISSED."

"Golly, do y'all think he might have been asleep this whole time?"

Chatot, evidently overhearing the whispered comments, took immediate action. He flapped his wings more furiously in an attempt to wake him up.

"Guildmaster! GUILDMASTER!"

Wigglytuff blinked a couple of times, then raised his paw in the air triumphantly. "Everyone, it's time to go to Crystal Cave!"

"Hooray!" the guild members cheered, then dashed off to the ladder. Only Lucky paused in front of Julia and Flame.

"Hey, Julia, can I travel with you guys through Crystal Cave?" he asked, his tail wagging. Exchanging a glance with Flame, who just shrugged, Julia nodded to Lucky.

"We don't mind. You just have to keep up, okay?"

"Roger that!" Lucky woofed then, to Perry, yelled, "We're joining Julia and Flame, if you don't mind!"

Perry had been going up the ladder when Lucky shouted that at him and he flew over, looking confused.

"We're going with them? But won't that complicate things?"

"Lighten up, bro! I can help them out, since I know what Pokémon are living around there, and they're good assets for us! See, it's win-win!"

_Is it just me, or is Lucky acting differently?_ Julia wondered. _Ever since he heard about my Dimensional Scream, he's been really taking charge. But why is he so interested in me?_

"Let's not waste any time, then," Flame said, leading the way up the ladder. "How far is it to Crystal Cave?"

"Um, lessee..." Lucky thought about it, then shrugged. "About a day's walk, I'd say. So it might be the next day by the time we get there. But we want to get there as quickly as possible so we can be the first ones to get to the Time Gear, so let's push hard!"

They had made it to the bottom of the stairs when Lucky suddenly grabbed Julia and jumped with her into a bush. It seemed that Perry had done the same with Flame, and now the brothers were dead silent. Outside, Julia could make out two Pelippers circling in the air, but nothing else. The other guild members had gone already.

"What are we hiding from?" Flame hissed, glancing back at Perry. Perry nodded out at the Pelippers.

"Them. Stay quiet and they might just leave. If not, we'll have to find another way around them."

Lowering her voice as much as possible, Julia whispered, "What? Why are we hiding from them? They've helped us in the past. Maybe they can take us to Crystal Cave faster."

"Are you crazy?!" Lucky replied to her. "They're the enemy!"

Julia exchanged a glance with Flame, and he seemed to be thinking the same thing as her: the boys were playing a game.

_Darn, I should have refused to let Lucky come with us, _Julia thought with a bit of guilt. _Now we're being held back by their game of pretend. Oh, dear Arceus, what if they do this all the way there?!_

After the Pelippers flew elsewhere, Lucky let Julia go and the four squeezed out of the bush. Almost instantly, Lucky took off running, forcing Flame, Julia, and Perry to rush after him. At least Lucky went the right way at the crossroads to Crystal Cave, but he was so fast that Julia had to go at her top speed, or else she would lose him. He seemed to know where he was going, too, and he seldom checked his wonder map.

They had run for almost ten minutes straight when Lucky halted in his tracks and yelled, "Perry, above us!" Perry didn't hesitate to fly straight up. Julia squinted at him and noticed a flock of birds above them. After Perry joined them for about a minute while the other three panted, the entire flock came down and landed. The birds turned out to be Swannas, and what looked like the leader came forwards.

"This young bird has explained your situation to us," she said, "and we'll gladly offer our assistance to you. Maggie, Charlotte, come over here. You two can take these two – " She jerked her head at Julia and Flame. " – and I'll take the Riolu. By the way, my name's Mindy, so if you ever need us in the future, you'll know who to call."

"Th-thanks," Flame stammered, quickly getting onto Maggie's back.

"Ah'll warn y'all now," Maggie said, "we're some mighty chatty folk, so don't complain if we be honkin' all the way ta Crystal Cave, ya hear me? Good! Ye'll likely hear a lot more o' me before the ride's over!" She guffawed at her own joke.

Once everyone, excluding Perry, was on a bird, the Swannas took off into the sky. They appeared to have been in the middle of a chat about something or other when Perry had flown up to ask for help, for they dove right into conversation the minute they were airborne. It took all of Julia's willpower not to put her paws over her ears and try to drown them out.

Julia soon became relieved that they had found the flock when they did. She suspected that Lucky's estimation of the length of time it took to get to Crystal Cave was based on the ridiculously fast pace that he had been taking, for it was nightfall before she could even see a trace of the entrance to the cave. Below them, it had been mostly grasslands, but the Swannas somehow managed to find a pond to land by for the night. The four trainees drank their fill of the grassy-tasting pond water and, due to the lack of decent-sized bushes, simply flattened some patches of tall grass and fell asleep in pairs. The sky above them was clear but the air had a bite to it that had Julia shivering when she awoke.

Shortly after a breakfast of apples and some oran berries Flame had packed, they were off again. Again, the Swannas showed off their talkativeness to the point where Julia began contemplating how badly it would hurt to jump from their height. At least they hadn't happened upon a group of Chatots.

_Actually, where are Wigglytuff and Chatot right now?_ Julia wondered. _I didn't see them leave the guild, so I suppose they're still there. But will the two of them be enough if my vision was indeed in the past and Grovyle attacks Treasure Town or something?_ She shook her head, realizing it was horribly pessimistic for her to be thinking of such things. They were going to make it and stop Grovyle from stealing the Time Gear.

"Lucky," Julia called out over the sound of the wind rushing past and the honking of the Swannas, "thanks for coming with us. And Perry, too. If it hadn't been for you guys, we wouldn't have made it this far."

"Don't mention it!" Lucky yelled back cheerfully. "I'm just glad you didn't hitch a ride from those Pelippers!"

"Oh, are you dears talking about those Pelippers?" Mindy asked, glancing up at Lucky. "Why, we were just talking about them the other day, weren't we, ladies?" There were honks of agreement.

"You see, ve have been noticing a whole lot more of zem," Charlotte explained. "More zan ever before. Is very peculiar, no? Vy are dere so many of zem all of a sudden? It really makes you vonder, no?"

"I guess so," Flame replied uneasily. "I mean, I've lived around here my entire life, so I'd know. I've just never really noticed them before."

"Don't trust any of them," Lucky said in an uncharacteristically dark tone. "Especially not those two that always fly together."

Lucky's attitude was on the verge of seriously freaking Julia out, so she ignored him. She already had enough to worry about.

The sun was right above them in the sky when the Swannas dropped down and landed in front of a striped grey stone hill with a glimmering opening.

"We're here, darlings," announced Mindy. "As I said, if you ever need a ride, perhaps for the way back, just give us a whistle!" Her flock then flew off, leaving Julia wondering how the heck they would ever be able to find her again.

"Let's not waste even a second!" Lucky woofed, bounding into the opening.

"Hold up!" gasped out Perry between pants. "I'm tired from all that flying. Can I have a break, please?" Lucky paused, then held out an arm firmly.

"Here, perch on my arm or shoulder if you're tired, but we can't stop right now. We can stop once we've gotten to the Time Gear!" Grudgingly, Perry landed on his arm, then let Lucky run in. Julia and Flame skirted after them.

It was dark inside Crystal Cave, but Flame ignited his back to provide some light. There was no wonder as to how it earned its name – everywhere Julia looked, there was a crystal. They were on the walls, the ceilings, and even, occasionally, on the floor. After one particularly painful incident where Julia accidentally impaled her paw on one of the (thankfully) smaller crystals and bled badly for half an hour afterwards while leaning heavily on Flame for support, nobody made the same mistake and kept their eyes on the ground.

The wild Pokémon around here were surprisingly weak to take out, but they fought viciously and with a good deal of power. Julia came close to fainting more than once, and she and Flame both were soon in fairly bad shape. Not Perry and Lucky, however. Lucky dodged attacks like a speeding Rapidash and attacked back with the fury of a raging Emboar. He cleared the way of enemies with hardly any effort.

"Lucky, you're...strong," Julia commented at one point after he had cleared a monster house practically on his own. "You could have evolved by now."

"Yeah, I know," he replied enthusiastically, never slowing his fast pace, "but I just haven't found any working Luminous Springs. Y'know, those places where Pokémon can evolve?"

Julia frowned at him. "There's one very nearby to Treasure Town."

"Is there? Wow, I never knew that! Oh, well!"

Before Julia could ask him how he couldn't know that, they came into an open room that was unlike the others. In this room, there were three blue crystals arranged in a triangle pattern with a huge structure of clear crystals in between them. In the crystal formation was a gap that they could walk through.

"Shit! Someone's already been here!" Lucky cursed, pausing to cross his arms in frustration.

Julia pushed back the obvious question of, "How do you know?" and instead asked, "Do you think it was Grovyle?"

"Maybe," Perry replied, flying over to the gap. "But we won't know until we enter, will we?"

They got their answer very soon after they entered, though Julia wished they hadn't. The answer wasn't pretty.

The four of them had hardly spent five minutes in there when Julia's ear pricked up and she heard sobbing. Quickly, she picked up the pace and followed the sound to find herself in a large room. Items were scattered across the floor, as well as fainted wild Pokémon and drops of blood. The reek of blood was almost overpowering. By the entrance, not two metres away from them, were Loudred, Sunflora, Corphish, and Bidoof. That is, what was left of Bidoof.

"Oh, no..." Julia sank back on her haunches as she just took it in. When Flame looked over her shoulder and saw what was going on, he cried out, "No! Bidoof!" and ran to the four.

Sunflora cradled Bidoof's head in her arms and cried while Corphish and Loudred just stared at him in disbelief. Bidoof's chest had been torn open and blood continued to spill from it. One of his front legs was bent at an awkward angle, and his left ear was torn straight off.

"I...I can't believe this," Loudred murmured, shaking his head at Bidoof. "He...we ran into a fucking monster house and...bloody hell!" He covered his eyes with his hands and trembled. Corphish was unable to speak.

"Woah..." Looking everything over, Lucky sighed and said, "Yep, this is definitely bad. Definitely. Yep. One of the Pokémon here did this to him?"

Loudred nodded numbly. Flame was shaking and Julia closed her eyes. Out of everyone at the guild, excluding her, Bidoof had been the most amiable to him and they had been good friends. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Flame was feeling.

"We're running out of time, then," Lucky said seriously. "Julia, Flame, we have to get going now."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Flame exclaimed, glaring back at him with tears in his eyes. "One of our closest friends just fucking died, and you're telling us we have to 'get going now?!'"

"Look," Perry said, "these Pokémon are becoming more violent. No, not just these Pokémon – all Pokémon. They're losing their minds. That's because the Time Gears are gone, and this one's getting weaker. If we don't leave now and stop Grovyle, it won't be just Bidoof that dies. Each and every one of us will perish, if we aren't trapped in frozen time."

"We need you to come with us," Lucky continued, "'cause we can't do this on our own. We need your help. Please – " He turned to leave, but glanced back once more. " – come with us."

Julia and Flame exchanged a long, hard look. The brothers were right. There was no time to waste. Slowly standing up, Flame gave Loudred, Corphish, and Sunflora a sorrowful look, then bent and hugged Bidoof's body tightly.

"I'll never forget you," he whimpered. Pulling away, he turned and followed Lucky and Perry reluctantly. Julia wiped the mess of tears and blood off of Flame's face with a paw, trying hard not to cry herself.

With the pace Lucky took and the others matched, they made it out of the mystery dungeon and into a massive, open cavern in what felt like no time. As per the usual, there was a wide, gleaming lake stretching out as far as the eye could see and into blackness. This time, however, there was a bit of a bridge made of the same clear, shiny material as the ground reaching out down the centre of the lake. Giving each other quick glances, they all rushed down it.

As they ran, Julia could see something up ahead, on a larger area. When she squinted, she could make out their forms.

And without a doubt, they were of Azelf and Grovyle.

"Hurry!" Julia yelled at them, which would have likely been met with snarky remarks had their situation not been so grave. They were more than halfway to them when a sudden shaking of the ground nearly threw them off the bridge. Ahead of them, where the two were, crystals were beginning to burst out of the water, surrounding the platform. Within seconds, the entire lake was covered in crystals.

"So Azelf had a back-up plan, after all," Lucky murmured, narrowing his eyes. "Come on, I bet whatever he just did probably made Grovyle really peeved!"

They were just within earshot when Julia heard Grovyle growl, "And if you're going to stand in my way, then I'll have no choice but to kill you. What's one measly life when – "

"Stop, Grovyle!" Flame screeched furiously. "We're not gonna let you touch Azelf!" He threw himself in between Azelf and Grovyle with his paws outstretched defensively.

"Get out of my way," snarled Grovyle, "unless you want to die with him?" Julia noticed that Grovyle's bag seemed to be glowing brighter than before and it was giving her that same odd feeling as before – only now, it felt more urgent.

Flame charged at him with a Flame Wheel, but Grovyle dodged and struck him powerfully. The scent of blood hit Julia's nose.

"Flame!" Furiously, she attacked Grovyle with a discharge of electricity. However, he dodged that as well, then sliced at her chest. Her own blood spurted outwards and she fell onto the ground, trying to take in deep breaths. It had become difficult to breathe and the reek of blood caused her mind to reel.

"We need to talk with you."

That had been Lucky's voice, and the Riolu now marched straight up to Grovyle, prompting Grovyle to slash at him with his claws. Before Julia could even gasp, Lucky was back on his paws, looking as fearless as before. He even looked...calm.

"I think we've found something you're looking for," he added, making Grovyle's eyes narrow in suspicion.

Lucky never was able to tell Grovyle what he had found, for suddenly, Dusknoir materialized in front of them.

"Are you all alright?" he asked, but without waiting for an answer, turned to look at Grovyle. "It has been quite a while, hasn't it, Grovyle?"

_Wait, what?! They've met before?!_

"You're truly relentless, aren't you?" Grovyle chuckled in response. "It's almost flattering, the way you follow me around like a lost puppy."

_What? What?!_

"This time, you will not get away!"

"I must admit, I hadn't expected to see you in this world." Grovyle closed his eyes solemnly, then brandished his claws. "But I am more than prepared to fight you."

Laughing, Dusknoir asked, "But do you truly expect to win? Against me?" The two, as if cued, charged at each other at the same time. Suddenly, Grovyle was gone.

"Damn!" spat Dusknoir. "He never intended to fight me at all! No matter." He turned around and vanished the way he had appeared. Now, Julia and the others were alone again. Beside her, Azelf was shaking and clenching at his chest.

"Oh, great Arceus, it hurts," he whimpered through sobs. Had Julia felt it was safe for her to speak without killing herself by choking on blood in the process, she might have said the same thing. Spots began to swim in her vision and though she fought to stay awake, she felt weak and tired and she eventually gave in to unconsciousness.

* * *

Flame woke up first, as was normal. The inside of his mouth felt dry and he was vaguely aware of bandages wrapped tightly around his abdomen and chest. He tried to sit up and, upon realizing that was doable, tried to stand. That was not doable.

"Julia," he hissed at her, shaking her shoulder. She looked far worse than he did. The bandages that covered her chest were stained red and her breathing was shallow. Feeling terror, Flame shook her harder.

"Julia! Hey, Julia! Wake up!"

"F...Flame?" she mumbled, squinting up at him. "Where...where is everyone?"

Before Flame could answer that, Chimecho floated into the room and blinked in surprise.

"Ah, you two are awake!" she chimed cheerfully. "You're both very lucky. Had you been brought in even an hour later, you would likely have perished."

"Did Lucky and Perry bring us in?" Julia asked, sitting up and looking around their room.

"Yes, and I healed you."

"Thank you so much!" Flame said to her, beaming. "But, um, what about Azelf? Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Chimecho assured. "Currently, he's resting in the guild. Compared to the two of you, his wounds weren't that severe. Now that you're awake, I'll alert the guild."

She swung her tail back and forth to make a dinging noise and called out, "Everyone! They're awake!"

Within seconds, all of the guild apprentices thundered into their room excitedly.

"You guys are OKAY? What a RELIEF that is to hear!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you woke up!"

"Meh-heh-heh... It's good t' hear ya'll are still in the game."

Flame blushed from all the affection everyone was giving him, but someone was missing. The unnoticed one, who would have come straight to Flame's side and almost start crying...

_Bidoof...oh, Arceus, why did it have to be you, of all people?_

"Actually," Julia began, also seeming to notice that the room felt a little too empty, "there's something I think I should tell everyone."

"Can it wait for later?" Chimecho quickly asked. "I'd like to check your wounds, replace your bandages, if need be." She shooed everyone away despite their protests, then pulled away the cloths. "Flame, you're doing much better! See, my medicine can never be beaten when it comes to effectiveness!" She pulled off Julia's and nodded. "Yes, you can still see the blood and those scars might be there for a while, but I'll wash that down with a bit of water and you should be good to go!"

"How long were we out?" Flame asked before she left to get some water.

"Oh, only a few days. I'll provide you with a nice dinner tonight, okay? It'll be extra large and..." She gave Flame a wink. "...I'll think about adding some meat for you."

Once she had returned and cleaned both of them up nicely, she allowed them to leave the room and go upstairs, where everyone was waiting for them. Well, except for Bidoof. And, oddly, Perry and Lucky.

"Hey hey hey, so are you gonna tell us now?" Corphish asked excitedly. "You told us in your room that you had something to tell us, hey hey!"

"Yeah," Julia said, "I do. I think that Dusknoir and Grovyle might have known each other from sometime before all this."

There were gasps and the Pokémon all looked at one another in shock.

"H-how did you come to such a conclusion?!" Chatot sputtered, flapping about in a flustered way.

"Dusknoir said that it had been quite a while since he'd seen Grovyle, and Grovyle said something about Dusknoir chasing him, even before..."

"That's pre – "

"And where has the great Dusknoir gone now?" Dugtrio interrupted Chatot.

"Well, Grovyle ran off, I think," Flame said, "and Dusknoir vanished. I'm thinking that he went after him. Speaking of which, where are Lucky and – "

Suddenly, a noise like a siren could be heard coming from the sentry pit and everyone turned to look. Diglett quickly burrowed over and vanished underground. When he returned, he looked shocked.

"It's coming from outside. It's Officer Magnezone's emergency alarm! Either that, or some ridiculously noisy birds that sound a lot like – aw, screw it, I'm not doing that shtick again." He went back over to the hole and called into it, "Deputy Magnemite, could you please yell down at us whatever you need to say? I've had a really crummy week and I'm too lazy to go all the way over and relay the message back and forth!"

After a pause to allow for the awkwardness to settle over them, Deputy Magnemite called down, "Zzzt! The important message from Officer Magnezone that some whiny little Diglett has forced me to yell down at you is – "

Diglett's eyes snapped wide open and he vanished underground. There came the sound of strangled screams and breaking electronics, then Diglett reappeared.

"After I politely told him to never speak about me or my family or any Diglett or Dugtrio ever like that, he apologized and told me that everyone is to meet in town square to hear Officer Magnezone's big important news. Also, on the way out, if you see a disfigured Magnemite half-hidden in a bush just outside the guild tent, ignore it. It doesn't really exist."

Not even Chatot would argue with that.

"Hey hey! Then I guess we'd better head up!" Corphish said, and nobody hesitated to rush up the ladder.

A crowd had already gathered in Treasure Town's square, including Mesprit, Uxie, and Dusknoir, but there was one less Magnemite than usual. The anxious murmurs amongst the crowd were like the hums of Combees.

"Azelf, you're alright!" exclaimed Mesprit when she noticed him, and rushed over to hug him. "Oh, I was so afraid that something terrible had happened to you!"

"I'm fine, yeah," Azelf replied, cringing from her affection. "Chimecho took care of me."

Uxie only gave Azelf a nod of acknowledgement and asked, "The Time Gear?"

"Um, right, that. Yeah, it's safe," Azelf replied, averting his eyes.

Once Dusknoir raised a hand, everyone fell silent to hear what he was going to say. Flame had gotten stuck behind an Ursaring and he was having a hard time seeing Dusknoir, though he could see that, oddly, Officer Magnezone came forwards to speak first. Loudred scoffed audibly and folded his arms.

"ZZZT! Thank you for coming out today, everyone. ZZZT! I assume you all have heard of the recent Time Gear thefts! ZZZT! They were stolen by a Pokémon named Grovyle! ZZZT! However, the final Time Gear was protected by Azelf! ZZZT!"

Azelf turned red in the face as the townspeople gave murmurs of praise and appreciation.

"ZZZT! And the one who protected both Azelf and the Time Gear was Dusknoir here! ZZZT!" Magnezone added. Some members of the crowd cheered, though Flame still felt slightly unnerved by what Julia had brought up about Dusknoir possibly knowing Grovyle from before. It stuck in his mind, even back when Dusknoir had first appeared at Crystal Lake.

"Pardon me for interrupting," Dusknoir said, "but may I take over from here myself?"

"ZZZT! Of course, Dusknoir, sir! ZZZT!" Magnezone floated backwards to allow Dusknoir to address everyone.

"Now, then, townspeople," he began, "although Azelf defended the Time Gear, we must remember that Grovyle is still at large. We cannot afford to feel secure while such a dangerous criminal is unaccounted for. Additionally, there is something else that is tied to all this." His gaze swept over the crowd and rested briefly on Flame and Julia for a moment before he continued, "What I am about to say may be beyond your belief, but it is indeed the truth. Grovyle is not from this world. He...is from the future."

Flame, along with almost everyone else, gasped at that. Sunflora squeaked out an "Eek!" before fainting dramatically onto Loudred's shoulder.

"The future?" the green Kecleon brother asked, his eyes wide in bewilderment. Flame noted that the purple brother was absent, but when he peered out over the bridge, he could see him at his post in the Kecleon Market with an amazed look on his face.

"Hey, dad," Flame heard Diglett ask Dugtrio, "what does he mean by 'from the future?'"

"Perhaps he is referring to the Ritual of the Future, which we will be teaching you on the next full moon," he replied. "Be certain to bring a blood sacrifice with you to Sharpedo Bluff."

"Okay, dad!"

Dusknoir continued, "Yes, from the future. In the future, he will be a notorious criminal who will not stop at even murder to get his way. He fled here, to the past, to escape justice, and came up with a catastrophic plot!"

_This is incredible! Grovyle is a murderer?!_

"And what might that plot be?!" Chatot squawked, looking alarmed.

Dusknoir closed his eye, looking pained, then opened it and said, "By taking the five Time Gears, he would cause the planet's paralysis!"

"Hey hey hey! What's that mean?" Corphish asked.

"When a Time Gear is removed, the flow of time around it stops. As more Time Gears are taken, time continues to stop in those areas and the flow of time beyond that slows down. Eventually, it slows down so much that the flow of time stops completely around the planet. Thus, the planet is paralyzed."

_How could anyone want that?! Grovyle must be seriously sick-minded!_

"So, um..." Azurill bounced forwards and stared at Dusknoir with wide, terror-filled eyes. "What happens if the planet is paralyzed?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Dusknoir's gaze softened and he replied, "Nothing good, Azurill. The air is always deathly still, plants cease to grow, the day never comes... It is a world of unrelenting darkness. It would be no exaggeration to call it the complete ruin of the world."

Letting out a little squeak, Azurill hopped back over to his brother and hugged him tightly. The crowd was nearly silent. What could be said to the thought of such a terrible outcome for the world?

"Hey, DUSKNOIR!"

Everybody looked over at Loudred when he spoke up at last. He had a suspicious frown on his face and he marched right over to Dusknoir.

"There's something I don't QUITE understand!" he snapped, jabbing an accusatory finger at Dusknoir. "Sure, people SAY you know a LOT, but aren't these rather TALL claims? How the hell do you KNOW all of this, eh? How could someone like YOU know what's in the FUTURE?!"

"Loudred!" Sunflora snapped at him, turning red. "Why do you always have to be so insufferably RUDE?! Dusknoir's done nothing but help us, and you're just being fu – "

"No, no," Dusknoir interrupted, "there is no need to defend me. Loudred has a point. How do I know so much? It is because...I, too, am a Pokémon from the future."

_What?! Seriously?! The great Dusknoir...is from the future?!_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I love Bidoof. He's one of my favourite characters in the game. Just so I don't get complaints that I'm a Bidoof-hater.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Y'know what I say? Screw the rules! I'll upload a chapter whenever I want to from now on! And you can't stop me! Ahahahahaha!**

**Here, have some Leo. Read and review, and enjoy!**

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The clock's lit up display read 4:00. Leo found himself squinting at it from where he lay in his bed, a bright beacon in a pitch-black room. He couldn't remember hitting the snooze button, but 4:00 was the time he'd set the alarm to. For a few moments, he was very tempted to shove the clock off his nightstand and go straight back to sleep; however, he knew that he had work to do.

He forced his body into a sitting pose and let out a long breath. Swinging his legs out from under the covers, he stood and stretched before heading over to his desk. He turned on both of his desk lamps and he pulled out his papers along with the Pokégear. He squinted at the writing on the papers, then flipped the top one. There were his notes.

The moment his laptop turned on, he rapidly pressed the brightness down button until he could see the screen without feeling the fear of going blind. He connected to the internet and went to his site right away, named 'The Inquisitive Pyroar,' on a pun of his own name. When the writer of his favourite infodump site, Crypt of the Unown, found out about what he was posting, she agreed to affiliate his site with hers. That way, there was a link to his site on hers, which was one of the more well-known sites of that type, and his view count had increased exponentially.

He went into edit mode and typed out the notes in a new blog entry, then edited some other pages with facts and speculations. After that, he browsed the comments and jotted down notes on new speculations readers gave him. The clock by his bed read 5:17 by the time that was completed.

But for some reason, even with all these facts, he was still confused.

Leo leaned back in his swivel chair and spun around idly. Now, he would usually ask Corphish what he thought. The Pokémon would peer at his notes and pick out familiar words on the papers like 'mystery' and 'perhaps,' and after Leo explained what he had recently found out, he would chatter about and try to tell him what he thought. Even though Leo had a very limited understanding of all Pokémon speech, he could understand Corphish on another level.

Those days were now gone.

Officially bored, Leo sat up straight and checked another site on his computer. This one was the hiker's blog. The man, named Kieran, added a new blog entry every day or so. Because of a limited plan on the cellular device he was uploading from, he couldn't take photos or videos. And now that Leo had gotten over the shock that a place that was constantly changing its layout and where wild Pokémon were incredibly vicious could exist, the posts never revealed anything new to him. Just another 'Wow, got charged by an Onix!' or 'Had to put my Pokémon on guard while I slept!'

There were two new posts; the first was same-old, same-old. However, the second was more interesting.

'So I think I'm near the top now. Lots of wildies everywhere. Drilbur fainted again. I feel something up ahead. Not sure what it id, but seems pretty interesting. Getting some natural light in here now.'

"'Feel' something, huh?" Leo murmured aloud, tapping a pencil against his cheek. It didn't seem noteworthy enough to add to his site, but it was an interesting point. He quickly jotted it down, then checked Crypt of the Unown. Nothing, except for a case about Diglett's Cave in Kanto being closed down due to earthquakes. Boring.

He spun around in his chair again until he decided to watch some cat videos. For the rest of his early morning, he sat there, hunched over his computer and watching Glameows frolicking in the snow for their first times, or some lip-dubbed Espurrs in a staring contest.

"Leo? Leo, I know you're up!"

The high-pitched voice came from outside Leo's door and he sighed.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Breakfast in ten minutes, then I'll want you to walk the dog!"

"Oh, come on!"

They had an overgrown Arcanine who should have died years ago. The old thing never wanted to go for walks, and Leo would have been perfectly happy with that. Too bad his mom insisted that he took him out every morning. Why couldn't his sister, Dorothea, take him for a walk instead?

After checking to see if he had any comments on his new post – which, to his disappointment, he didn't – Leo pulled off his pyjamas and put on some random clothes, then opened his bedroom door and walked out into the dining room. Everyone else was already seated and there was a basket of bread and a plate of various hams and cheeses on the table.

"Wow, Leo, couldn't you take, like, twenty more minutes or something?" Dorothea scoffed, rolling her eyes. "We're about to eat already."

"Hush, Dory," her mother said, but gave Leo a hard look anyways. "You need to learn to come on time, or I'll confiscate that laptop of yours."

"Seriously, I'm hardly late," Leo protested, sitting at his spot. His mom just sighed and everyone began to eat.

Why did I get stuck with this crappy family? Leo thought as he grabbed some toast and a piece of ham. Wherever Corphish ran off to, I wish he could have taken me with him!

Dorothea began talking about her latest boyfriend, which Leo could only take five minutes of before excusing himself quietly and grabbing Arcanine's leash. The dog was sprawled right in front of the door and didn't look keen on moving anytime soon. Reluctantly, Leo scratched his belly until he finally agreed to stand up and have the leash put on him.

The morning was too cold for Leo's liking, but Arcanine seemed unfazed by the temperature. Leo dragged him along to the woods that bordered Route 29, where they always went for walks. Spearows and Pidgeys chirped continuously, much to his great annoyance. Pokémon in general annoyed him, perhaps due to the fact that he could hardly understand anything they were saying. Without a doubt, the worst decision he ever made was bypassing the course in school for understanding Pokémon speech in favour of mythology. Now he was among the minority of people who couldn't talk to Pokémon. Yeah, that was just great.

A few minutes into the walk in the woods, the usual morning happenings began to be turned on their heads, starting with an encounter with a man dressed in a violet jumpsuit and wearing a mask, who walked out suddenly from behind a tree. Leo jumped in shock and yanked on Arcanine's leash forcefully to stop him from going on.

"You're from Team Fury, aren't you?" Leo asked cautiously. The man chuckled and took a step towards him.

"Maybe I am," he said, "but why don't you see for yourself how furious I can be?"

"Uh, what? What are you talking about?" They were too far into the woods for anyone to hear him even if he yelled, and this guy was clearly a lot older than him and could outrun him in a second.

Vines suddenly burst from the ground and wrapped around Leo's ankles. His eyes grew wide but before he could even reach down to try to get them off, two more vines shot up and restrained his arms. The man came right in front of him and touched his face lightly. There was something wrong with his eyes; in them was a crazed look that no human being should be capable of.

"Get away from me, you freak!" Leo yelled at him.

"Don't be scared, little boy," the man said. "I just want to show you something..." He began to move his hands down Leo's body and the boy thrashed violently.

"No, stop it! Don't – !"

Flames came out of nowhere and struck the man's back. His clothes seemed to be fireproof, but he certainly wasn't. Screaming, he stumbled away and whipped his head back and forth in an attempt to find the source. It was old Arcanine, blasting a steady stream of fire from his maw. The Team Fury man shambled towards him, only to be viciously bitten on the leg by Arcanine.

Noticing that the vines holding him had loosened slightly, Leo tore away from them and kicked the man in the crotch as best he could. The hit was a bit off due to Arcanine blocking the way, but it seemed to do the trick. The man was felled and he curled up a little.

Totally crazy, but a weakling, Leo thought triumphantly. "Arcanine, blast that bastard to the moon! Use Flamethrower!"

Arcanine let go of the leg and went for the neck instead, completely ignoring Leo's command. This method seemed to work, too; after convulsing a little, the man stopped moving.

That was when Leo realized what he'd just done.

"Oh, no no no no no!" He grabbed Arcanine's leash and forcibly pulled him away. "We're murderers! We just killed that guy! Oh, Arceus, they'll put us in prison for years! Whaddawe do?!"

In response, Arcanine bent down and licked his balls.

"Classy," Leo commented, wrinkling his nose. "C'mon, man, we gotta get outta here before – "

A strong wind blew by, then another. Leo squinted up and saw the treetops swaying madly. Even in a breezy town like New Bark town, the winds never got this strong. Was it a tornado, or a hurricane? But they weren't in an area for those to occur.

"I don't like this, Arcanine. Let's go." Arcanine tugged at the leash when a Sentret ran by. "No, bad boy! Sit!" Of course, the dog didn't obey him.

Leo could hear birds taking off from where they'd been in the trees and his sense of urgency grew.

"Mom'll kill me if I leave you here! Now, come, boy!" Bristling, Arcanine suddenly backed up into Leo's legs and began to growl. His usually floppy ears were now pinned straight up and there was a fierce look in his eyes. The wind blew stronger, forcing Leo to duck behind the dog. A roaring sound filled the woods, as well as screaming which Leo recognized as his own.

Then, just as abruptly as it started, everything stopped.

Slowly, Leo rose back up and looked around. Something was wrong. He knew it immediately. He was no longer on the well-worn trail that he went on every morning. He was now standing in a glade with two paths leading out from it. His knuckles were white around Arcanine's leash, so he loosened his grip.

There was something different about the dog, too. Instead of looking as lazy as usual, he stood with a firmness. He actually looked like he could be ready to battle.

That was when a Sentret hopped in with its eyes narrowed in a menacing leer. And at that moment, Leo knew. He didn't need to see it charge towards him and Arcanine, or watch Arcanine rise on his hind paws to strike it down. Even if he hadn't wandered through the labyrinth the forest had become for what felt like forever afterwards, he would have known.

The same thing that had happened in Mount Coronet and Ilex Forest had happened here.

"Oh, Arceus, Leo! Where the hell have you been for the last two hours?!"

By the time Leo had dragged himself out of the ever-changing maze, the sun had risen quite far in the sky to offer him a little bit of warmth from its rays. Both his mind and his body were completely spent and even Arcanine wasn't steady on his paws. It wasn't good enough that there was no clear path through the forest and that Leo was terrified out of his skin – wild Pokémon attacked the two of them from every direction and without giving them even a moment's rest. Leo couldn't help but feel incredibly grateful that Julia had sent him live footage from her travel through Ilex Forest. It was thanks to her and the knowledge he'd gained from it that he had been able to avoid the trap rooms set up by the wild Pokémon. Unexpectedly, however, he ended up in Cherrygrove city instead of New Bark town, but since there was nothing that could make him go back in, he had decided to stay there and call his mom from one of the Pokémon Centre phones.

What he didn't know was that he was, in fact, going to go back into the forest within a few minutes.

"Mom, there was this guy from Team Fury, and I'm pretty sure he tried to rape me or something, and the forest turned into – well, I don't know what the hell it is, but – "

"Are you kidding me? I thought I raised you better than this! Stop making excuses!" She looked positively enraged, with the one hand that wasn't holding her Pokégear on her hip. In the background, Dorothea passed by, and paused to stick her tongue out at Leo. He stuck his tongue out back at her.

"Leo, are you even listening to me?" his mom snapped, causing him to nod quickly. "Gods, I don't know why the hell you're in Cherrygrove all of a sudden, but you need to come home right now. If you're not back in twenty minutes, then I'll – "

"Can you just let me explain?!" Leo burst out. That silenced her, but she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Fine. What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Leo began, "Y'know how I told you about Mount Coronet and Ilex Forest? Well, this is the same thing! It happened in the forest and on Route 1, and now they're – "

"For the last time, Leo, I'm not taking any of that bullshit!" Leo tried to open his mouth to protest, but was cut off. "How stupid do you think I am? How stupid are you? Look, you can't tell me honestly that you actually believe that those places turned into magical, messed-up mazes! That kind of stuff only happens in fairy tales! How old are you, Leo?"

"Mom, I mean it – "

His mom threw her free hand up in frustration and shook her head. "Y'know what? If you're going to be like this, I'm just going to come get you. You don't have to go through your infinite labyrinth if you actually think – "

"Don't! Don't go through there! I'll get someone here to lend me a flying type Pokémon so I can get back – "

The screen went black. Leo turned to stare at Arcanine, who woofed unhappily, then dashed out of the Pokémon Centre, dragging the Pokémon behind him. From what Julia and Kieran had said and from what he had just experienced, he knew that the absolute worst thing one could do was go in unarmed. The only Pokémon their family had was Arcanine – their old Purugly, Misty, had died a few months ago – and his mom would be without protection in the forest.

Arcanine pulled away on the leash until they entered the forest. Suddenly, he was as he was before – oddly alert and energized. Leo decided it was something about the atmosphere in there, and he made a mental note to add that to his blog. For a few minutes, he ran blindly after Arcanine, who was now the one dragging him through the trees. Every ten seconds or so, a wild Pokémon would run or fly towards them, but they were easily dispatched with a quick blast of fire from the dog. They made much faster progress, and Leo began to feel the hope that he was going to make it home before him mom entered the forest.

That is, until Arcanine suddenly veered to the side sharply and began barking back at Leo in evident distress. Leo willed himself to run faster after him, but he didn't have far to run. They came into an open clearing where many Pokémon had gathered. Their attention was not on the newcomers, however.

It was on the body lying on the ground.

"Mom!" Leo shrieked. He let go of Arcanine's leash in bewilderment, not pausing to watch him dispatch of the wild Pokémon. He ran straight to the bloodied body on the ground and dropped to his knees next to it. Without a doubt, it was –

"No! Mom!"

Although his mother's clothes were drenched in blood, her eyes were still open and she was breathing hard. She managed to look up at Leo, and her eyes were filled with terror.

"Oh, gods..." she murmured, reaching out a hand to touch his face. "Leo, you spent...all that time...here...?" Her head lolled to the side.

"Arcanine! I've gotta lift her onto your back!" Leo yelled, praying the dog would understand. Either he did or he had the same idea, for he crouched to let Leo pull his mom onto his back. Then, at last second, Leo hopped onto Arcanine's back as well. Luckily, the dog was strong and large enough to hold them both, and he sped off through the woods.

Perhaps an minute later, Leo and Arcanine made it out of the forest and into New Bark town. Without delay, he hopped off his back and steered him towards home. Upon sight of his injured wife, Leo's dad tore his Pokégear from his pocket and contacted, presumably, Cherrygrove town's Pokémon Centre, the nearest Pokémon Centre. He didn't even ask Leo a single question. He didn't need to.

It wasn't long after the call was made that two Dragonites flew down, one of which was ridden by a nurse. She had the other Dragonite carefully take the woman in its arms and they flew off again immediately. The next half hour, while they waited for a follow-up call from the Pokémon Centre, was one of the most tense half hours Leo had ever felt. He couldn't even bring himself to go to his room and update his blog. They all just sat around the table silently, staring at nothing until the Pokégear rang again.

The nurse informed them over speaker phone that she was very lucky and that she would live, but that she had a concussion and would have to be brought to the Violet city hospital for further diagnosis and treatment. Leo felt numb as his father replied to her calmly but with a shaking voice. It only took a minute of discussion for the family to decide to fly over to Violet city and stay there until Leo's mom was out of the hospital.

A family friend agreed to let them borrow two of their flying type Pokémon as transportation to the city, and they were over there shortly. Leo's dad booked a hotel room for them for a week and while he and Dorothea went to the hospital to wait for the results of the diagnosis and perhaps talk to Leo's mom, Leo just went into the hotel room. He sat on his bed for a long time, shaking with fear and exhausted but unable to sleep. Finally, he pulled out his Pokégear and dialled Julia's number.


	32. Chapter 32

**I'm sorry for the ridiculously delayed update. Unfortunately, this story is on hiatus for now. Luckily, I wrote this chapter beforehand! My problem is that this late in the story, I need to write quite a few even chapters before I write the odd ones to get a sense of pacing.**

**Do you think I went overboard with Diglett in this chapter?**

**...Nah. No such thing.**

**But enough of that! Read, review, and as always, enjoy!**

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"Wh-what?!"

The townspeople were in a state of shock, staring at Dusknoir or at each other in amazement.

"From the future? Dusknoir is?!"

"That can't be!"

Dusknoir said, "I understand that this is difficult to grasp, but it is true. I am indeed from the future. I have been chasing Grovyle and I followed him here. I am trying to stop him from causing the ruin of the world."

"Well, that's kind of important!" yelled one of the townspeople, an Ursaring. "How come you didn't tell us something like that earlier, eh?!"

Dusknoir bowed his head. "I deeply apologize. In order for me to not alert Grovyle of my presence, I could not reveal that I was from the future to all of you. And had I told you in the beginning, would you really have believed me?" Ursaring tried to protest, but he sat back on his haunches and rubbed an arm awkwardly. "Of course not," Dusknoir went on. "You would have taken me for a lunatic. However, I feel terrible for deceiving you. For not being open about my identity, I sincerely apologize."

"Oh, please don't be sorry!" Chatot squawked hurriedly, looking panicked. "You did what you had to! You did nothing wrong at all!"

"Hey hey!" Corphish yelled. "That's right! Don't feel too bad!"

_This is crazy,_ Julia thought in bewilderment. _I can hardly wrap my brain around all of this. I didn't even know that time travel was possible, and both Grovyle and the great Dusknoir are from the future? I doubt it's even sunk in yet for everyone!_

"Now, then," Dusknoir said, "if Grovyle is to be captured, I will require your cooperation. Will you all help me?"

"You can count on us!" Sunflora screeched excitedly, much to Loudred's annoyance.

"Yeah, SURE," he muttered. The townspeople, one by one, began to nod their heads and grin determinedly at Dusknoir. Dusknoir turned to Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit to talk with them, and everyone else chattered excitedly amongst themselves. Turning to Julia, Flame opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Diglett popped up from the ground between them, startling them both.

"Hey, guys," he said, looking around the crowd, "have you seen my dad?"

"Um, he was over there just a second ago..." Julia pointed over to where she had seen Dugtrio last, but he was no longer there. "Maybe he went to the bathroom or something?"

Diglett shook his head. "Fuck. Fuck fuckety fuck!"

"What's wrong?" Flame asked, flinching from that outburst.

"If he's at fucking Sharpedo Bluff again, I am so going to give him a piece of my fucking mind!" Diglett angrily went back and forth as one would pace, then stopped and glared out past the crowd in the direction of the cliff beyond Treasure Town. "Do you guys ever notice that he just disappears sometimes?"

"N-not really."

"Well, he does. He goes off to that bluff and preaches to the sea. It's been really getting on my nerves lately, 'cause he's neglecting his duty. Well, I guess he is still doing rituals and sacrificing innocent children, so that's kind of doing his duty as a Dugtrio, but I mean his guild duties. Then again, if he doesn't brutally destroy something every week or so, he gets very depressed and doesn't update the notice boards or anything. But he isn't even doing that out there! He's just yelling at the sea, like he has nothing better to do!"

"Wow, that's..." Flame searched for the appropriate words. "That's tough. But maybe he needs to yell at the sea. My mom tells me it helps you release tension."

"Maybe." Sadly, Diglett heaved a sigh and turned away. "But he's ignoring me, too. We haven't gone out on a murder spree together in such a long time. I wish...I wish he paid more attention to me sometimes."

Julia wanted to console Diglett, but she was too afraid of him to.

"Everyone!" Dusknoir called out. "We have come up with a plan! Please listen carefully, everyone. I would like you to spread a rumour that Azelf intends to seal his Time Gear away forever. Spread it as much and as far as you can."

"Oh, I understand!" Chatot said. "The intention is for Grovyle to hear this rumour. That way, he will become more desperate and return to Crystal Lake!"

"Indeed," Dusknoir agreed. "However, he may not be convinced by rumour alone. Thus, Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit will actually venture out to Crystal Lake as well."

"And when Grovyle comes, we'll be there to catch him!" finished Flame. The Pokémon began talking to one another again, announcing to one another the ways they would attack Grovyle.

"This is exciting!" Julia said, grinning at Flame. "Everyone is so eager to help! Even I'm getting fired up!"

"I appreciate your willingness to assist me," Dusknoir went on, "but I am afraid that I alone must be the one to capture Grovyle."

Instantly, the enthusiasm died down and was replaced by disappointment.

"Even with this rumour in place, Grovyle will be cautious in the extreme," Dusknoir reminded. "If all of you were to go to Crystal Lake, surely he would realize how many more Pokémon there were in the area. He would never approach."

_That's what Uxie said before, when we tried to help him before at Fogbound Lake,_ Julia remembered. _And we all know how well that worked out. How is this time going to be any different?_

"That's too bad," sighed Sunflora. "I was getting all excited, too!"

"I apologize, but that is the way things must be." Dusknoir swept his gaze over everyone. "You still have the important task of spreading the rumour, though."

"Very true!" Chatot squawked. He hopped to the front of the crowd of guild members and cleared his throat. "Up until now, we were trying to capture Grovyle." Pausing briefly, he added awkwardly, "Yoom...tah! Ahem... At least, that was the plan. This time, we will stay out of it and allow Dusknoir to work alone. Is that clear? Guildmaster?"

"Yep!" Wigglytuff replied cheerfully, though, it seemed, less cheerfully than usual. At least he stayed awake this time.

"I guess so," mumbled Loudred. The other guild members sighed and also agreed reluctantly.

"Very well, then!" Dusknoir said. "We shall take our leave now. Remember, do spread the rumour." Nodding to everyone, he and the three lake guardians floated away down the path. Eventually, the guild members headed back to the guild to check the job notice boards. Already, Pokémon were chatting about the Time Gears, particularly with other exploration teams, and about how Azelf planned on sealing the last one away for good. Flame and Julia grabbed a couple of outlaw notices and left the guild, nearly bumping into Dugtrio on the way out.

"Hey, Julia, look." Flame nudged Julia's shoulder, but she had already spotted the two Pelippers who were conversing with each other at the foot of the stairs. They looked up and, upon spotting them, smiled and waved.

"Well, well, well!" one of them exclaimed. "It's been a while, hasn't it, you two?"

"Hi," Julia greeted, feeling a little wary. What Lucky had continuously said about them unnerved her. "Um, this might seem a bit out of the blue, but have you seen a Riolu and a Spearow around lately?"

The two Pelippers looked startled, then immediately shook their heads.

"Can't say we have," one said, frowning.

"We've met them before," added the other, "but the Riolu yelled something at us – what was it, something like, 'Stop, thieves?' – and ran off. Cute kids, but way too hyper for older guys like us. When was the last time, a few moons ago?"

The first Pelipper shrugged. "Sorry we can't be of much help," he said. "We headed up here with our flock a while ago when it got too warm down south, but I expect we'll be heading back down soon now that winter's approaching."

"That would explain all the Pelippers around lately," Flame said, nodding to himself. "That's a shame, though. Will we see you next spring?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We often switch up our locations to keep things fresh."

"If you do come by again, be sure to visit us!" Julia said, smiling. "We'll probably be at the guild here."

The Pelippers chuckled, then turned to fly away. Without thinking, Julia blurted out, "And did you hear that Azelf's gonna seal away the final Time Gear?"

They stopped abruptly and stared back at her. "Is that so...?"

Flame rolled his eyes at Julia. _So much for being subtle._

"I mean, that's just what I've heard, but apparently, he's going to seal it so it can never be taken!"

The Pelippers frowned at each other before one of them laughed uneasily. "That's...that's good, I suppose..." Something seemed to pass between them, and the other sighed.

"Welp, we best not be keeping the two of you. Farewell." Then they took to wing and flew off into the sky. Flame and Julia watched, and were left to puzzle over what had just happened.

_That sounded kind of final. Like they were saying farewell for the last time._

"Good fer you two fer spreadin' the rumour," came a voice from behind them. Croagunk hopped down the path with some flowers in his arms. "Them Pelippers'll likely spread that rumour pretty far, ah reckon." He continued to hop along.

"Where are you going with those?" Flame asked cautiously. Croagunk turned his head back a little bit, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

"What does it look like? Ah'm headin' to Bidoof's grave."

Flame was only able to manage a tiny, "Oh." The air seemed to stop moving entirely for a moment, before Croagunk sighed and hopped away. The sickening reality of it hit Julia again. One of their guild members was dead. They would never see Bidoof again.

And there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

That evening, when everyone had returned from their missions for the day and sat down to dinner, Chimecho kept her promise to Flame. In front of him, she set down a plate with the regular meal as well as a small chunk of seasoned meat. If she had been asked, Julia would have been unable to identify it, but Flame seemed to like it. Sunflora began talking to Loudred in an overly loud voice about how disgusting it was to eat the flesh of another Pokémon, until he reminded her that she was a sunflower Pokémon and that every plant she ever ate was like her kin. That shut her up and caused everyone else to burst into laughter until Chatot hushed them.

Afterwards, they sat around the lower room in small groups before Chatot would send them off to bed. That was when Bidoof's absence became glaringly apparent, and nobody was capable of enthusiasm. Even Sunflora and Loudred couldn't keep up arguments.

"It's almost eerie," Flame murmured to Julia. "Everyone's so...downcast."

"Hey hey, neither of you were awake when we talked about it." Corphish scuttled over to them with his head lowered. "We had a little funeral for him, and I think everybody cried." He jerked his head at Loudred. "Even him, though he won't admit it."

"And Chatot and Wigglytuff, too?" Julia asked in amazement. Corphish sighed.

"Yep. Maybe it was because Wigglytuff started crying that we all did. I don't think any of us have ever seen him like that. You know how he usually cries, hey hey? With all the drama and shaking and 'Yoom-TAHs?' This time, he was just silent. I can't even begin to describe the feeling."

He looked badly shaken up, but he shook his head and began to walk away again.

"Um, hang on," Julia began. Corphish glanced back.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering... We haven't seen Lucky or Perry for a while. Would you know where they went?"

Corphish frowned. "Well, I know they were at the funeral, hey hey. We all heard them sobbing in the back. But after that, they left sometime and haven't returned."

_Odd_, Julia thought. _When we found Bidoof in Crystal Cave, neither of the brothers seemed too upset by his death. Maybe they were concerned after all. _She closed her eyes, thinking._ But why have they gone, then? Is it because they don't want us to ask about what Lucky said to Grovyle at Crystal Lake?_

_Why _did_ he say that?_

"That reminds me," Julia said at the same moment Flame began to say, "Actually, we wanted to – " They exchanged a glance, then Julia motioned for him to go first with a paw.

"We wanted to tell you about something Lucky said, actually. When we were at Crystal Lake, Lucky marched right up to Grovyle and told him – oh, what was it? I think he said something about having found something Grovyle was looking for? I can't remember it completely now, but it was something like that."

"Hey hey hey! Does that mean that Lucky knew him, too? Is he also a Pokémon from the future?"

Some of the guild members in the room turned their heads at that. That had been a tall claim by Dusknoir and the possibility that there might be others was certainly intriguing.

"Actually, I don't think so," Julia said. "When he first tried to talk to him, Grovyle attacked him. He didn't look like he knew him."

"That's very odd, hey hey!" Corphish exclaimed. "I wonder why Lucky would say such a thing! Clearly, it can't have been about the Time Gear. That would have been right down there at Crystal Lake!"

"Oh my gosh, could it have been about a sixth Time Gear?" Sunflora suggested, looking amazed. "One that they found?"

"I don't know," Flame said. "I guess that could be a possibility. I've never heard of a sixth Time Gear, though. Wouldn't Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit have known about it?"

Instantly, everybody began putting in their ideas about another Time Gear or about what Lucky had said. It got so noisy that Chatot shrilled at them to get their attention and sent them off to their rooms immediately.

"It's no good discussing these things!" Chatot snapped, ushering them with his wings. "They'll keep you up all night, and that's hardly a good thing. You need to be well-rested. Besides, Dusknoir is handling the situation with Grovyle. There's no need to come up with conspiracy theories!"

Julia and Flame plopped down on their bed and sighed.

"I hope the great Dusknoir catches Grovyle soon," Flame said. "Everyone's going insane, even from just that little thing."

"Anything to tide them over until we get news, I guess," Julia shrugged. "Chatot's right, though. We'd better get to sleep now. Sleep well, Flame."

"Yeah. Good night." Flame curled up next to her and touched her paw lightly. She gave him a small smile and squeezed his paw back, then closed her eyes.

They were awoken by Loudred in the morning, as per usual, and headed into the crew room. To her surprise, it appeared that Croagunk had stay by his cauldron to sleep that night, for he was walking in to the group from that direction.

"'Mornin', Julia," he greeted, stretching. "'S gettin' awfully cold durin' the night."

"Why didn't you sleep in Loudred's room, then?" she asked, lowering her voice a little bit.

"Ah doubt ah'd be able to. Ah'd slept rather close t' Bidoof, and ah don't think ah'd be able to handle sleepin' there again." He managed a grim smile, then hopped over to his spot in the crowd. The gap in the formation was overly evident, but everyone did the morning cheer as brightly as they could.

"'Smiles go for miles,'" Julia repeated to herself quietly before heading upstairs to grab a job request. However, there was quite a commotion up there already. When she reached the outlaw notice board, she could see why. The jobs were one day old, not updated from the day prior. Chimecho flitted about nervously, then flew downstairs. A stream of curse words could be heard. Diglett popped up in front of one of the boards, swore some more, then vanished underground again.

"Oi! DIGLETT!" Loudred yelled from downstairs. "Get back here RIGHT NOW! Don't you DARE neglect your DUTY! DIGLETT!"

He clambered up one ladder, then the other, and vanished aboveground. In the mean time, the apprentices and other teams were left to stand around awkwardly waiting for the two to return or the updating of the boards. Neither of the events occurred.

"Kinda pointless to just stand around, isn't it?" Flame said to Julia. "Why don't we head out for a bit until they return?" Julia shrugged in response. They headed down into town, where the townspeople were milling about. From the bits and pieces Julia caught from their conversations, most of them seemed to be talking about the rumour. The atmosphere felt tense, but at least everyone was eager to help spread the rumour around. Julia couldn't help but wonder what was going on at Crystal Lake. Hopefully, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were safe.

Suddenly, the feeling of being watched hit Julia like a tidal wave and she looked around frantically. Something about the feeling made her feel almost scared. It was like whoever was watching her was doing so with malicious intent.

"Hey, Julia, are you even listening?"

Julia realized that Flame had been talking to her and she shook her head awkwardly.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. I might've drifted off a bit there."

"You've gotta stop doing that!" Flame playfully knocked on her head, then ran on ahead. "Come on, I want to show you something."

He raced over the bridge with Julia hot on his heels and went on past the small town. There was a cliff that overlooked the sea up ahead, known as Sharpedo Bluff due to the Sharpedo-like shape of it. There stood a lone red flag that flapped in the breeze, a shady tree, and a large bush, but standing right on the edge of the cliff was Dugtrio. Flame and Julia slowed down and, after Flame gave Julia a confused look, ducked behind the bush to spy on him.

"O, great sea!" Dugtrio called out. "Answer us! What is our purpose? What is it that we must do?" Only the sound of crashing waves replied to him. "Have we not sacrificed enough to you? Please, answer us! What will you have us do?!"

Unexpectedly, there came an answer.

"YOUR...DUTY..."

"What?!" Dugtrio exclaimed.

"DO...YOUR DUTY!"

"Our duty?"

"NO MORE WHINING TO ME! GO BACK TO THE BLOODY GUILD AND DO YOUR FUCKING DUTY! THAT IS WHAT YOU MUST DO!"

Dugtrio looked startled, then quickly vanished underground, likely going back to the guild. Flame and Julia only managed to stare at each other in bewilderment, when something hopped from the tree. As it turned out, it was Loudred.

"Well, Diglett?" he asked as Diglett popped up next to him from the ground. "Did I do alright?"

"It was perfect," Diglett replied, sighing. "Now dad will hopefully do what he's supposed to do."

Loudred nodded, but looked guilty. "You sure it was OKAY to trick your dad like that?"

"Yep. Otherwise, he would've ended up further neglecting his duties at the guild...and as my dad."

_I guess Diglett really does have a soul_, Julia thought, still from behind the bush. _He cares about his dad that much..._

"I mean," Diglett went on, "it wouldn't be so bad if he'd already taught me how to properly hide a body and how to manipulate Pokémon into following me to the sacrificial altar. Until he teaches me that, I guess I have to keep him alive."

_Oh. Never mind, then._

"Unless I got another Dugtrio to teach me. I've heard that all of them know. Then again, most of them are weaklings, according to dad, and they may not know the proper ways. But what if dad is the one teaching me wrong?"

Loudred sighed and patted Diglett on the head. "You never change, do you, buddy?"

"Probably not. Also, just as a friendly reminder, if you tell anyone what the bottom half of my body looks like, I will tear you limb-from-limb, and leave your corpse to bleed all over the grate. Oh, but that would be gross for me. I'd have blood dripping on my head. Ew. Then maybe I could spear you through one of those totem poles, if it's strong enough. Unless..."

Likely having heard enough, Loudred gently nudged Diglett to get him moving along and away. Once they were gone, Flame and Julia crept out from behind the bush, shaking their heads.

"Here," Flame said, pulling away some of the branches of the bush. Julia looked at him oddly, then realized that he wanted her to go through it. She did, and she found a hole in the dirt with steps leading down. Naturally, she went down.

She emerged in an open room with a small water fountain and some barrels set to the side. There were three nests of straw on the ground. This area was in the 'jaw' of Sharpedo Bluff.

"Like it?" Flame asked, coming down the stairs. "This is where me and my sisters sometimes came to play. I was thinking, though..." He walked over to her side and smiled hopefully. "After we graduate from the guild, do you maybe...do you maybe want to come live here with me?"

Julia stared at him, then she broke into laughter and tackled him in a hug. "I'd love to, Flame! Yes, let's live here together!" He looked startled, but he hugged her back tightly.

"Th-thank you," he managed, nuzzling her face gently. For a few more minutes, they lay in one of the beds together, cuddling, until they got up and headed back to the guild, paw-in-paw. By now, Dugtrio had updated the notice boards with new requests, and they took some of the outlaw notices before heading back out.

Soon enough, night had fallen and everyone was in their beds. Julia was unable to sleep, her mind once again crowded with thoughts about Grovyle and Dusknoir.

"Hey, Julia? You still awake?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause before Flame continued, "I guess we're probably thinking about the lake trio and Dusknoir, right?"

"It's really bothering me. I'm worried about them, just a little. What if they get badly hurt? Or worse?"

"They'll be fine," Flame said without conviction. "I'm certain they'll catch Grovyle. They have to. Or the planet will be paralyzed. And I know they're not going to let that happen." He leaned in towards Julia and pressed his forehead against hers. "But let's not worry about it too much. Otherwise, we won't be able to sleep."

"You're right," Julia sighed, curling her tail around him. "Good night, Flame."

"'Night..."

* * *

Halfway into the morning address, the faint sound of Officer Magnezone's siren started up outside. Shortly after that occurred, a voice called down the sentry tunnel, "Zzt! Officer Magnezone has new news! Zzt!"

"Alright!" Diglett yelled back. "Yell down your message!"

"Zzt! What? No way, man! You come up here and get it! Zzt!"

Diglett seemed to be straining to control himself, but he managed to reply, "Unless you want to end up like your Magnemite buddy, you'd better yell down whatever you have to say!"

"Zzt! What! You're the one who beat him up and dumped him in the bushes?! Zzt! That is a punishable offence! You could be – "

Sheepishly, Diglett vanished underground. Everyone tried to ignore the sounds of a Magnemite being mutilated, except for Wigglytuff, who completely and blissfully ignored it. Either that, or he was asleep again. Diglett reappeared, looking upset.

"When will they ever learn?" he sighed. "I mean, that is just rude. Anyways, the news is that Dusknoir has successfully caught Grovyle!"

Everyone stared at each other, thrilled, and they barrelled out of the guild. The entire town was buzzing with excitement, but what they were crowded around took the guild members' breaths away. Right there, in the middle of town square, was a pulsating black void.

"What IS that?!" Loudred exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Eek! It looks like a pit of nothingness!" Sunflora shrieked.

"Hey hey hey! Where'd that come from?"

Officer Magnezone, who floated beside it, said, "ZZZT! That is a dimensional hole! ZZZT! Dusknoir opened this portal. He said that once one steps inside it, they will be transported to the future! ZZZT! Please be extremely careful and make sure not to touch it! ZZZT!"

Julia looked around the crowd, frowning. She didn't see the lake guardians there, or even Dusknoir and Grovyle. Surely they should have been there by now?

"Hey, look!" shouted Ursaring. "Someone's coming up the path!"

Everyone turned to look, and Julia swerved around the crowd to see who it was. Two Sableye walked along on either side of Grovyle, who had ropes tied around his arms and muzzle so that he couldn't speak. He looked tired and beyond struggling at this point, though he still had a determined glare in his eyes. Behind him floated Dusknoir, looking as calm as ever. Murmurs spread through the crowd, but were hushed once Dusknoir came to the front of the crowd by the dimensional hole.

"Everyone! At last, we have captured Grovyle!" he announced, to excited cheers. "And in doing so, we have prevented the planet's paralysis!"

Grovyle was desperately trying to say something, thrashing against his bonds and the rope around his mouth, but he was tied too tightly to get out even a word.

"Um, Dusknoir, sir?" called out Marill. "Um, my brother and I were wondering...where's Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf?"

The crowd grew silent, waiting for an answer. Dusknoir sighed and shook his head.

"They all fought Grovyle bravely; however...Azelf was murdered by Grovyle's claws!"

Cries of outrage burst out and attacks from the villagers began to go flying at Grovyle until Dusknoir came in front of him and held out his hands.

"Please, refrain from becoming reckless!" he said. "Suppose one of your attacks hit your neighbour, or the ropes binding Grovyle?" Dusknoir motioned with a hand, and the Sableye hopped into the dimensional portal with Grovyle. "What happened may be sad, yes, but we need to remember that his sacrifice was not for naught. All of the Time Gears are back in place, and time shall revert to normal. Now, it is time for us to say farewell."

Pokémon began murmuring sadly and thanking Dusknoir for what he had done for them. Julia felt conflicted inside; anger at Grovyle, sadness that Dusknoir was leaving, and confusion about what had been said.

"Hey, um..." Julia noticed that the Pokémon nearest to her was Corphish, so she leaned in towards him. "Hey, Corphish, did you notice that Grovyle didn't appear to have any blood on his claws?"

Corphish rubbed his chin with a pincer. "Hey hey, you're right. He didn't. But after Azelf was killed, wouldn't the barrier on the lake have been deactivated? I saw those crystals when we came to rescue you. Grovyle could have fallen into the water, hey hey!"

"But he'd have been in a good position to take the Time Gear, if so," Julia replied. Before either could say anything more, she heard Dusknoir call out, "Before I go, I must see two Pokémon. Julia! Flame!"

Flame locked eyes with Julia, and they pushed past the other Pokémon in the crowd to face him.

"Dusknoir, sir," Flame began, "we'll really miss you! And thank you so much for all you've done for us!"

"So, I guess this is goodbye?" Julia murmured, staring up at Dusknoir. The Pokémon nodded sombrely.

"Yes... This appears to be...farewell..." Dusknoir hesitated a moment longer, then chuckled. "Or is it?"

"Sorry, what?!" Julia burst out. Suddenly, Dusknoir reached out and grabbed them both by the scruffs of their necks, much to everyone's shock.

"It's far too soon for goodbyes!" he laughed. "You two...are coming with me!" And he began to drag them towards the dimensional portal.

"No! Don't!"

The unexpected voice came from behind the crowd, and an instant before Julia vanished into the void, she could see a Riolu and a Spearow rush out of the crowd towards them.

_Is that...Lucky and Perry?!_

A moment later, she was plunged into darkness.

* * *

**Heartwarming moments? Nah, I don't do those.**


	33. Chapter 33

**After a stupidly long hiatus, chapter 33 is out! Party people in the house!**

**Also, I have a new policy on Pokémon names. The species name, such as flaaffy or ponyta, is not to be capitalized unless it is a name, such as Corphish. I'll go back and edit my earlier chapters later.**

**When I'm feeling less lazy, that is. Read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

If one good thing could be said about Jordan, it was that he certainly wasn't boring. But as Sir Majestic Tail stood next to the table at Miltank's at which he, McMister, Julia, and Flame sat at, he began to understand why Julia had been so against him coming with them. He wouldn't stop talking. The moment he plopped himself down on one of the wire-frame chairs, he was yakking about some kid at 'ranger school,' whatever that was, whose pants were too big for him and kept falling down. When the waitress trotted over and asked if they wanted anything to drink, he cut Julia off to compliment the waitress's hair and ask what her favourite Pokémon was. Within moments, they were in a full-fledged conversation while Julia simmered in frustration.

Understandably, Fluffy waltzed off to the bathroom the first chance she got and had yet to return. However, even for trying to escape a blathering idiot, she was taking an awfully long time.

_I certainly hope she is not secretly conversing with that Jerome again! _Sir Majestic Tail thought to himself, feeling deep concern. _As good as she is at lying, it is becoming very difficult to believe that she can keep up her façade for this long! Surely he has already seen through her? _He shifted his weight from hoof to hoof_. Suppose he is currently chopping her up like an onion for a stir-fry? Or leading her away? Or, even worse, planning with him to kill Julia and Flame – and, more importantly, me?!_

But to whom could he voice his fears? Not to Flame – she was suspicious enough as it was. She likely wouldn't hesitate to tear Fluffy apart the first moment she got. Julia, too, was out of the question. Miltank's was far too crowded to tell anyone without being heard by others, anyways, and he didn't need to be thought of as an ally to Team Fury.

"So, when she wasn't looking, we all pelted her with snowballs, and man, she totally flipped out!" Jordan was continuing to talk, even with his mouth full of pancake. Every third forkful he fed to McMister, who showed no signs of liking or disliking the human food.

_As a proper gentleman should,_ Sir Majestic Tail thought approvingly.

"Hilarious," Julia deadpanned. She was just poking at her pancakes, evidently having lost her appetite. Flame seemed to be attempting to hold a fork and knife in her paws with little success, though she occasionally glanced at the bathrooms with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Shoving another bite into his mouth, Jordan went on, "Well, the best part was when her boyfriend came in, and we all ran like hell! He's a big guy, see, and he's got these beady eyes that – "

Julia waved down a waitress – thankfully not the same one as before, who had really seemed to like chatting with Jordan – and said politely but firmly, "We'll have the bill now."

"Wait, what about dessert?" Jordan began, but was silenced with a sharp look from his cousin. He tipped back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Yeah, you just want me to starve to death, don't you?"

As the waitress walked off, Fluffy materialized by the table. Sir Majestic Tail hadn't even noticed her walk over but he said nothing, instead letting Flame snap at her, "Hey, where the hell were you, Fluffy? We're going to leave soon!"

Fluffy grinned down at her. "What, can't a flaaffy take a shit now? The Pokémon Centre food is – how shall I put it? – a pain in the ass, if you know what I mean."

That earned her a glare from Flame that plainly said, "Tell the truth."

Discreetly, Fluffy glanced at Jordan and pulled a face. Flame nodded, but kept her eyes narrowed. Jordan had begun sneakily pulling Julia's plate towards him with the tip of his fork, and when Julia noticed, she groaned and shoved the plate towards him.

"If ya didn't want it," Jordan mumbled while shovelling a heaping forkful into his mouth, "you fouldn't haff waited 'fil if goth cold. You know I luff feese pancakef."

"That's disgusting," Julia growled. "Don't talk and eat at the same time."

"M'kay, muffer."

After what felt like another half hour, the waitress returned with the bill on a round, black platter. Sir Majestic Tail supposed receiving the small scrap of paper on such a platter was supposed to look fancy, but it seemed out of place at a cheap restaurant like this one. Jordan chatted up the waitress who had brought the bill until Julia yanked out enough money from her pocket to pay for the meal. Then she grabbed Jordan's arm and forcibly pulled him away and out of the restaurant. Flame and Fluffy followed the two right away, but Sir Majestic Tail paused and glanced back at McMister. The quagsire was slowly turning in his chair to languidly lift himself off.

_Taking his time, not rushing...what a marvellous Pokémon, exerting such self-control!_

Sir Majestic Tail trotted to McMister's side, then beckoned with a hoof. "Come along, sir, shall we catch up with the others?"

McMister didn't seem too keen on responding and Sir Majestic Tail had become convinced that he wouldn't, when the quagsire began to mumble, "The boy is, mmm, a hazard to my health. Too, mmm, chatty."

"I absolutely agree!" Sir Majestic Tail blurted out.

_Oh, how rude of me that was! To publicly express my dislike of a...harmless...person behind their back! But this quagsire is so easy to talk with!_

McMister blinked at him then, without another word, turned and began to amble out the door.

_Now I've blown it! That was too impolite! How little he must think of me now!_

Nervously, Sir Majestic Tail walked beside him, tail flickering with uncertainty. He had to say something, or he would seem like a jerk in McMister's eyes.

"So, erm, do you do contests? Or are you a battling type? Oh, er, or perhaps you are a ranger's assistant? I thought Jordan said something about that earlier!" Sir Majestic Tail laughed awkwardly. "Yes, that must be it! Is Jordan a ranger?"

Eventually, McMister replied, "Yes."

_Alright, I've gotten him talking! He must have realized how friendly and kind and open I truly am!_

They exited Miltank's to join the others, who looked antsy. "What took you so long, Fire-Butt?!" Fluffy snapped, jabbing his nose multiple times. "I don't need you to turn into a slugma now!"

Sir Majestic Tail raised his head. "I had slowed down to converse with McMister! Some Pokémon prefer to go through life at a relaxed pace, unlike you, dearest Fluffykins!" With a roll of her eyes, Fluffy turned to face Julia and give her a questioning look.

"Oh, uh, right," Julia said, then asked, "So where shall we go today? I wanted to perhaps leave the city today, but with Jordan here now..." She let out a heavy sigh that sounded more like a groan, and mumbled out, "Where do you want to go, Jordan?"

"I'm just followin' ya," Jordan said defensively, putting his hands up. "You can go wherever you want – oh, but maybe can we get some cinnamon buns at Cinnaheaven? I'm totally craving cinnamon buns!"

"What?! But we just ate and you cost me a fortune!"

Jordan flapped a hand at her. "I'll pay for myself, now don't you worry!"

Crossing her arms, Julia snapped, "We are not going to get more food, got it? And since you say we can go anywhere we want, I'm going back to the Pokémon Centre and grabbing my stuff, then we're leaving to Ecruteak."

"I ain't opposed to that!" Jordan mussed up her hair with a hand, then skipped off in the direction of the Centre, McMister ambling along behind him.

"What a fucking annoyance!" Fluffy bleated, grinning. "Who exactly is that dude, anyways?"

"He's my cousin." Julia started slowly after him, trailing behind quite a bit. It was likely, Sir Majestic Tail supposed, that she didn't want to be too close to him so people wouldn't associate him with her. "He goes to this ranger school that was established in Viridian city in Kanto and since he can just fly back and forth on a bird Pokémon, he doesn't stay in a dorm or anything." She sighed again. "Unfortunately. Two months out of the year, he goes to stay with his father before coming back."

"Why doesn't he just stay with his dad full-time?" Flame asked.

"It's complicated."

Flame nodded and just left it at that. In the mean time, Jordan was walking ahead briskly, his arms swinging with each step. He seemed more like a child than a teenager, let alone someone older than Julia. Fluffy, on the other hand, had a skulky walk, like she was grouchy, tired, and pissed all at the same time. What had put her in a bad mood? She had been smiling a moment ago. Concerned, Sir Majestic Tail strutted up to her side.

"Ah, Fluffy, dearest," he whinnied at her, glancing at her face, "what ails you?" Her eyes were tightly shut, as if she were thinking of something, and the corners of her mouth were turned downwards slightly. The moment he spoke, however, she replaced that expression with one of annoyance.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Recoiling from the snap of her voice, Sir Majestic Tail replied, "Well, you had seemed rather, erm, conflicted, so I thought I would ask if anything was troubling you. Perhaps we could talk it out...?"

She smirked and shoved his neck away with a paw. "If you're worried, you'll get lines on your forehead. That'll ruin your oh-so-perfect face, now wouldn't it?" Sir Majestic Tail couldn't help but smile.

"Even with wrinkles, my good looks would far exceed yours!"

Fluffy gave him a mocking grin, then looked away, frowning again. "I guess, though, there's something that's been bugging me." She glanced up at the pale sky. "I've been getting these headaches. I mean, I've had headaches even before I was captured, but they were getting worse over time. But what's weird is that I don't get them anymore. Nothing."

"Perhaps they were growing pains," Sir Majestic Tail suggested. "Your wise-Alec brain was getting too big for your skull, and my superior presence deflated it like a balloon!" That earned him a gentle punch.

"I dunno. Maybe I'm overthinking it. You certainly made light of it easily enough." She paused, then mumbled, almost too quietly for him to hear, "Thanks, Fire-Butt."

Sir Majestic Tail felt his face become red and he turned his head to the side slightly. "Not an issue at all, Fluffy."

The silence between them quickly grew awkward and Sir Majestic Tail retreated backwards to Flame and Julia's sides. Julia gave him an odd look, but Flame looked intrigued. "Ooh, what just happened between you guys?"

"N-nothing!" Sir Majestic Tail stammered, cringing. "I just put her in her place, that's all!" His voice must have been loud enough for Fluffy to hear because, a moment later, a bolt of electricity arced backwards and struck him squarely in the face. He whinnied in shock and pain as the electricity surged through his body, then stamped a hoof on the pavement. "That is very rude and unkind!" he called. "If someone is talking behind your back, the least you can do is pretend to not hear!"

That warranted another electric shock.

Once they reached the Pokémon Centre, Julia quickly ran off to her room to grab her things while Jordan chatted up the nurse, who just looked disconcerted. McMister was staring very hard at his own tail, actually wearing a serious-looking expression. Feeling conversational, Sir Majestic Tail joined him and asked, "So, what are you doing right now?"

After a few seconds, McMister replied, "I am, mmm, trying to remember if this was here yesterday."

Sir Majestic Tail blinked. "Pardon?"

"My tail. I cannot, mmm, recall if this was always here."

"Is that so?" the ponyta said awkwardly. "Well, I would assume that it would always have been – "

McMister cut him off with a surprisingly dark glare. "I am not talking, mmm, about my fucking tail."

Sir Majestic Tail staggered backwards and nearly fell over. "Pardon? Your fucking what?!"

"You annoy me." McMister continued to glare at him evenly. "You think that I am, mmm, a retard, am I correct?"

"You're using awfully harsh language all of a sudden!" whinnied Sir Majestic Tail, unable to answer the quagsire's question.

"Your tauros-shit 'fanciness;' your, mmm, stupid obliviousness; your absolute lack of, mmm, decent personality. You remind me, mmm, of someone. A friend of my friend. I only, mmm, met him once, but that, mmm, was all I needed for me to loathe him."

It was as if a snorlax had been dropped on Sir Majestic Tail's head. Fluffy sneered at his stony-faced horror. "Hey, look, you're actually beginning to realize that not everyone wants to kiss your hooves all day long!" She skipped over and put a paw around McMister's shoulders. "I like you, mate! Looks can be deceiving, eh?"

"Mmm, indeed," McMister replied. Sir Majestic Tail was still in a state of shock and he couldn't even begin to form words. It was then that Julia reappeared, handed the keys to the room back to the nurse, and called out, "Time to go, guys!"

Fluffy marched off with McMister and Sir Majestic Tail remained frozen for a moment, before shaking his head and stumbling after them.

_To think, McMister had such a low opinion of me this whole time!_ he thought in agony. _And who is this friend of whom I remind him? If I remind him of them, they can't be all that bad, can they?_

Julia led them northwards, out of the city. Sir Majestic Tail looked around longingly. It may be quite a while before they would visit again, and that meant that he wouldn't get to go to that café for some time. He let out a deep sigh and hung his head.

"Cheer up, Fire-Butt," Flame hissed at him. "Think about your _awesome_ alliance with Team Fury, and how you'll get the privilege of crushing Julia and I under your hooves later." She began to speed up to catch up to Julia, but Sir Majestic Tail hopped forwards and extended a foreleg in front of her to stop her.

"Come off it!" he snapped, then lowered his voice when McMister glanced back. "I am not allied with those ruthless savages! I had to follow Fluffy's lead while she was talking to Jerome! What was I to do?"

Flame frowned. "So you're just going along with whatever she's doing?"

"Of course! After all, as rude and cold-hearted as Fluffy can be, I know that she is clever and I trust her completely!"

After a moment, Flame grinned. It wasn't a happy grin, but a teasing, mocking grin. "You have a crush on her, don'tcha, Fire-Butt?"

Sir Majestic Tail paled, but his flames seemed to flicker a bit higher. "What in Arceus' name are you saying?" he sputtered. "I just said that she was rude and cold-hearted! I like her just as I like the dirt stuck beneath my hooves!"

Unfortunately, Flame's grin didn't falter. "Don't try to deny it, Fire-Butt. You were flirting with her the moment she came out of her Poké Ball."

"I was NOT!"

A blast of water shot him right in the face and once he recovered from the unexpected attack, he could see Fluffy holding up her paw for a high five with McMister, the latter of whom would most likely leave her hanging. She then glanced back at Sir Majestic Tail and blew him a coy kiss.

His mane and tail sputtered with frenetic fire and even his face felt like it was on fire.

_Absolutely not! Fluffy is annoying and so cruel towards me! I refuse to like her, even platonically! Refuse, refuse, refuse!_

"Knew it." Flame crossed her paws, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Also, I'll have you know that you cleared your name. Someone as ditzy as you could never seriously have thoughts of murder on his mind. Fluffy, though – "

"I already told you!" Sir Majestic Tail didn't want to have to defend her and strengthen Flame's ludicrous theory of him having any sort of romantic feelings towards Fluffy, but at this point, Flame was just being unfair and mean. "She is _not_ that kind of Pokémon!"

The scent of smoke hit his nostrils and he frowned, sniffing the air. "Flame, do you...?" he began, but she was already looking around, too.

"Over there!" She pointed over at a house a few blocks away with a flaming roof. Julia and Jordan had stopped walked and were also looking at it. Pokémon rangers and firefighters were already at the scene, dousing the house with blasts of water from their Pokémon.

"Do you suppose that could've been Team Fury?" Julia asked, loud enough for Sir Majestic Tail to hear.

A kid who was passing by glanced up at that question and shook his head. "That's the house of a guy in my class. I heard that it was just some random dudes. Like, just for no reason or anything." He shrugged, then wandered off.

"Huh." Jordan scratched his shaggy head. "I guess some people are just plain nasty."

Sir Majestic Tail nodded absently, watching the spray of water fly in arcs towards the roof. If his tail wasn't fire itself, he'd be sick of fire. Goldenrod city had an awful lot of fires happening, didn't it?

A ringing noise sounded and Julia dug through her bag to pull out her Pokégear, that little box Sir Majestic Tail had seen her talk into earlier.

"Hello?" she asked after answering it. Sir Majestic Tail trotted over so he could hear the voice on the other end.

"...tell you something," came the other person in a quavering voice, "and it's r-really ba-bad."

Julia's voice took on a serious tone. "What is it, Leo?"

"Y-y'know those pl-places like Ilex Forest and Mount Coro-Coro-Coron-n – "

"Yeah, you mean a mystery dungeon? Flame told me that's what they're called – "

"A mystery dungeon." Leo was silent for a moment, then stammered, "R-route twe-twenty-nine. It's – it's a m-mystery dun – " He suddenly broke down and there were sounds of muffled sobs. Julia stared at the Pokégear for a long time, listening to Leo's whimpers, then looked at her Pokémon with wide eyes. Everyone but Jordan understood.

_The mystery dungeons are not an odd occurrence...they're a plague. And they're spreading._


	34. Chapter 34

**Welp, here's my longest chapter thus far. I think. I'm too lazy to go and check. Meh.**

**A new adventure awaits our heroes in...the future! Pull out your hoverboards and spike up your hair in some outlandish colour, then join me in a group humming of the 'Back to the Future' theme! Enjoy, flame, Flame, and review!**

* * *

Flame forced his eyes open and tried to sit up. His body felt like it had been thrown against a wall several times and his mouth felt dry. Blinking hard, he took in his surroundings. Wherever he was, it was very dark, though there was a small torch on a wall that he could see by. He appeared to be in some sort of stone-walled cell with a dirt floor and no windows. The only opening, a doorway, was blocked by a heavy-looking door.

_What...happened? Where am I?_

There came a quiet moan, and he whipped his head to see Julia lying on the ground near him.

"J-Julia!" Quickly, he ran over and shook her shoulders. "Hey! Julia! Wake up!"

She blinked at him and frowned. "Flame? What's going on? What is this place?"

Flame shook his head. "I don't know. I only just woke up. But to me, this place looks like a jail."

"Have you tried the door or anything?" Julia asked worriedly. Flame walked to it and tried pushing his body against it as hard as he could. His teeth clenched and he shut his eyes tightly in concentration, but the door remained firmly shut.

"It's no use," he sighed, collapsing against it and panting. "It's locked." Julia's ears drooped.

"So...if we're in a jail, does that mean we're prisoners?" She looked thoughtful. "From what I can remember...Dusknoir had captured Grovyle and was taking him back to the future, but he also grabbed us and pulled us into the dimensional hole... And now we're here."

"Then that means..." Flame shivered a little. "We're in the future?" Miserably, Julia nodded in response.

Before either of them could say any more, the door suddenly burst open, sending Flame tumbling painfully across the room. When he looked up, six sableye had filed into the cell, grinning at each other manically. Two of them were holding some bands of black cloth, one of whom began to approach Flame with two of the others.

"N-no! Get away!" he yelled, but the sableye were upon him. While two grabbed his paws roughly, the third tied the cloth around his eyes so he couldn't see anymore. From the sounds of struggle, Flame guessed that the other three were doing the same to Julia. He ignited his back and prepared to blindly use Ember, but two sets of pointed claws dug into his ribs sharply, causing him to cry out in pain and drop to his paws. He could feel the blood dribbling down his fur out of the claw wounds and the sharp scent hit his nose.

There came a crackling noise from behind Flame and he realized Julia was attempting to attack them as well. The resulting screech told him that her efforts had ended the same way. He tried to call out to her, but the sableye had dug their claws into him again and were down pulling up to get him to his feet. They pushed him through the door and down some sort of hall, the pain from their claws making walking nearly unbearable. It took all of Flame's will to not break down in tears.

_Why are they doing this to us?_ he wondered frantically. _We didn't do anything!_

The walk seemed to take an eternity and the pain was beginning to pulsate through Flame's body in waves. He felt nauseous, terrified of what was to come. Eventually, he was pushed backwards against a cold surface. Something was tied across his body and pulled tightly, forcing him against the surface behind him, then again.

By the time the blindfold was at last removed, he found himself incapable of moving his body at all. He looked around the darkened room he was in and realized that he was tied to a pillar with a thick, sturdy rope that had been wound around him many times. Beside him, tied up just as tightly, was Julia, who was struggling feebly.

"Flame!" she called out. "Can you use a fire type attack on these ropes?"

"Don't you dare!" hissed a voice from the darkness. Flame guessed that it was one of the sableye. "If you make a single move, we won't hesitate to incapacitate you!"

_Not that it matters, anyways, _he thought grimly. _My back is pressed up against this pillar too hard. I wouldn't be able to produce a flame even if I tried._

Then, something green beside Julia caught his eye and he craned his neck out to see what it was. Tied onto a third pillar was Grovyle himself, who was so still that he appeared to be unconscious.

"G-Grovyle?!"

Grovyle's yellow eyes opened and fixed upon Flame, sending an unexpected chill down his spine.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!" Flame sputtered, unsure if he was just surprised or furious at the sight of the criminal. Grovyle continued to stare at him silently for a moment, then broke eye contact and closed his eyes again.

"If you would just be silent for a minute, it would be much appreciated," Grovyle growled. "I'm trying to think of a way to get us out of here."

"What's going on? Why are we tied up like this?" asked Julia, continuing to struggle.

"You sound more confused than terrified," Grovyle commented. He let out a dry laugh. "So you truly don't realize the situation we're in. This building we're in is a stockade, and we've been brought here to be executed."

Gritting his teeth, Flame yelled, "You're lying! Neither of us have done anything wrong! You're the criminal! Of course they'd want you dead!"

"That's true," Julia said. "What have Flame and I done to deserve this?"

"Something they didn't like, I assume. Whatever." Grovyle squinted through the darkness. "I don't care. And now it seems like thanks to all of your unnecessary questions, it's too late for me to formulate a plan. He's already here."

Before Flame could ask who, torchlight poured into the room, illuminating the grey walls and dirt floor, as well as the six sableye; they now stood before them in a straight line, their eyes glimmering. The two on either end each held one of the torches, giving Flame enough light to see an unexpected figure.

"Dusknoir!" he called out, feeling relief flooding over him. "You're a sight for sore eyes!"

Dusknoir didn't seem to notice Flame as he turned to the sableye and gave them a questioning look.

_Has he come to help us? _Flame wondered hopefully. _Now he'll attack all the sableye and free us –_

"What will you have us do, master?" one of the sableye asked in a scratchy voice.

Betraying no emotion, Dusknoir replied, "Kill them at once."

"Dusknoir?!" Flame writhed against his bonds desperately, realizing that Dusknoir must not have recognized them. "Dusknoir, it's me, Flame! Get us out of here!"

However, despite Flame's loud cry, Dusknoir did not respond to it at all. "Do not let yourselves be distracted by anything they say. Be as merciless as you can."

"Yes, master Dusknoir!" the sableye said enthusiastically, then chittered to his fellow sableye in another language, prompting them to get back into line formation and move towards Grovyle, Julia, and Flame. Dusknoir simply floated backwards a bit to watch.

"Wh-what are you doing?! No! Let us go! You've made a mistake! _Grovyle's_ the criminal, not us!"

"Listen, kid." That was Grovyle, who looked Flame right in the eye. "We need to get out of here. I have an idea, but you need to trust me."

"Like hell!" Flame growled. "I'll never trust scum like you!"

Julia hissed, "Flame, could you please shut up for one moment and listen to him?!" The sharp tone in her voice caused Flame to flinch and he immediately silenced himself. "Look, he may be the bad guy here, but it's either him or them." She gestured to the slowly advancing sableye with her head. Reluctantly, Flame nodded.

"Good. Now, their main assets are their claws, so there is a chance they will attack us with Fury Swipes. If their attack was to hit the ropes binding us, we could get free."

There was silence as Julia and Flame thought about it, interrupted only by the quiet giggles of the sableye, who were now very near. Doubts ran through Flame's mind; what if the sableyes' claws didn't tear the ropes? And what if they didn't even use Fury Swipes?

_Then we'd be dead for certain, _he realized with a shudder. Swallowing hard, he whispered to Grovyle, "I guess it's our only option."

Grovyle gave him an approving nod. "If we get out, I want you two to follow right behind – "

But before he could finish speaking, the six sableye leapt forwards as one and began slicing at the three, two to a Pokémon. Flame hadn't expected their claws to move so quickly or with such strength. The two sableye on either side of him slashed at his face ruthlessly, their only open target due to the rope binding him. Blood splashed into his eyes and he squeezed them tightly shut. He couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain; it felt like they were tearing his head apart.

Then he could feel claws slicing across his chest and, forcing an eye open, saw that they had moved down to the rest of his body. Though he felt himself on the verge of unconsciousness from the pain, a surge of hope filled his body.

_I have to hold out! Once they hit those ropes, my opportunity will come and we can escape!_

Flame happened to look up and saw, in horror, that Dusknoir was just watching calmly with his arms folded. Why wasn't he interfering? No, why had he ordered the sableye to attack all of them? How could he do this to them? If they were in the future...perhaps some evil force possessed Dusknoir and forced him to do this? What if it was Grovyle?!

"Now!" Grovyle suddenly yelled and Flame reflexively tore free from the frayed ropes and tackled the two sableye in a single, quick motion. Dusknoir started and began to exclaim something, but Grovyle rapidly pulled an orb from his bag and threw it against the ground. The room was instantly filled with a blinding flash of light. The next thing Flame knew, an arm was around him and he was pushed roughly downwards. The scent of earthy dirt filled his nostrils and his vision went black.

_He...buried me under the ground?!_

Although he was terrified and felt panicked, judging from the vibrations in the ground from the sableyes' frantic footsteps and the muted yelling he could hear, their captors were more panicked than he. After some time, the vibrations faded away and Flame could hear nothing. Moments later, he was dragged back up to the surface.

"Ugh, that was disgusting," he muttered, spitting out dirt, but Grovyle had already made his way to the door.

"Dusknoir and the sableye will be out looking for us," he said, narrowing his eyes at the duo. "I doubt that if the two of you went alone, you'd ever find your way out, but I've escaped from here before. Follow me closely, keep up, and don't say a word, got it?"

Flame would have ordinarily refused, but Grovyle had a good point. Glancing over at Julia, who nodded, he started towards Grovyle. Grovyle made eye contact with him then took off running. The two followed after him as closely as they could.

The corridors were dark and built of the same grey stone, lit only by torches placed sparingly along the walls. As they ran, Flame caught glimpses of what looked like more cells, and he swore that he could see a kirlia in one of them. He had slowed down for only a moment to stare at her, to see her clouded-over eyes, her expression of sheer hopelessness. Flame wanted to get her out as well. Any of the Pokémon in here; all of them. But Grovyle had already run out of sight, and Flame had no choice but to run after him.

Soon, he was gasping like a fish out of water, panting from the effort of running for so long. Grovyle never once let up his pace, though he did murmur back to them, "Keep it up!" or, "We're almost there!" from time to time. Flame wanted to retort snappily, but not only could he think of nothing good to say, his throat was burning from breathing so hard and yelling would probably hurt too much. It was difficult to believe that Grovyle actually knew the way out; all the walls looked exactly the same. But as they ascended stairs and ducked into corridors, the scenery began to look a bit different. The floors here were made of stone rather than the dirt floors of below, and there were no more prison cells.

And there were blood splats here and there, dried pools of them, as if someone had bled out on the floor. Many someones. The blood reminded Flame of his own injuries, which felt numb and only throbbed as he ran. Were there others here to be executed, like the three of them? Was kirlia one of them?

"Don't slow down now," Grovyle snapped at Flame and Julia, who were beginning to fall behind, "not now that we're almost out! Come on, pick up the pace!"

"Shut up," Flame gasped. "My limbs are on fire!"

"I should hope not. Only your back is supposed to be on fire."

Flame gnashed his teeth angrily at the snarky response but forced his legs to move faster, just to prove to Grovyle that he wasn't as useless as he thought he was.

Grovyle swerved sharply around a corner then headed towards another doorframe. However, this time, instead of leading into yet another hallway, it led to an open space with a pitch-black ceiling and no torches. The floor was dirt again, the walls were nowhere to be seen, and dark, scraggly trees poked out from the ground. And, with a sigh, Flame realized they were outside. He collapsed to the ground gratefully, breathing heavily. Julia flopped down beside him.

"Don't rest for too long," Grovyle said, looking back into the entrance of the stockade. "The sableye are surely still looking for us, and while they'll have expected us to use one of the back exits and not the main entrance, they'll find us in no time. Thought their hearing is lousy, their vision is excellent, so – "

"We're not..." Flame managed to gasp out. Grovyle turned his head to glance at him. "We're not...coming with you..."

With a short, humourless laugh, Grovyle said, "You still don't trust me, I take it? See if I care. If there is no trust, we wouldn't be able to work together as a unit. I bid you good luck." He turned away and began to leave, then looked back at them once more. "The future is an unforgiving place."

After he had vanished into the gloom, Flame sat up and looked about. The sky was cloudless and starless, and a thin sliver of the moon greeted him. Besides that, there was no light to see by. Everything looked dark – the withered trees, the hard-packed dirt path, the ravine with the floating rocks...

"This place is weird," he muttered, wandering to the edge of the ravine, which bordered the dirt path on one side. It was deep; too deep to see the bottom, not that it would be visible in this darkness, anyways. He kicked down a rock and listened for the sound of it hitting the bottom. None came.

"That goes without saying," Julia replied. She stood up and looked at the other side of the path. It dropped off into a steep slope, beyond which was a small, dark town. Nobody could be seen moving around. "We can't stay here. We need to go home." She shuddered. "And maybe we should get going really soon. The sableye might still come after us, and without Grovyle – "

"Who needs him, anyways?" Flame spat. "He's just a good-for-nothing villain!"

Julia nodded reluctantly, then said, "But...what if he isn't? What if Dusknoir – "

"No, that's not it. He's...he was just not in his right mind, I'm certain. We both knew him. He rescued you from the palpitoads, he saved the life of Azurill's and Marill's mother, he caught Grovyle. He wasn't a bad guy, at all. Maybe it was those sableyes' fault."

Sighing heavily, Julia glanced back at the town before continuing down the path. "Either way, we can't get caught by the sableye. That town is probably one of the first places they'll look for us. Besides, whether he's the 'bad guy' here or not, Grovyle seemed to know where he was going. This way's probably good."

Flame walked over to Julia and grasped her paw tightly. "We'll be fine. I just know it." Now that he was near her and they were still, he could see the damage she had taken from the sableye. There were some dark stains around her neck and her face was covered in scratches. She seemed to have gotten lucky. Flame couldn't see himself, but he figured that all of his cream-coloured belly fur had been turned red. Briefly, the realization of how close to death they were ran through his mind.

"Of course we'll be fine," Julia agreed, giving him a small smile. "Let's hurry, though, okay?"

Together, they ran off into the darkness.

* * *

As they continued along, the other side of the path dropped off into a chasm as well. If Julia didn't know better, the path was floating in the air. What concerned her was how straight the path was. Once the sableye were out of the stockade, and after they checked that town, they would have no difficulty following and finding them. But both she and Flame were out of breath, so they stopped behind a rocky alcove for a rest. There was a gap in the rock a little ways down, which she supposed was a cave. Did mystery dungeons exist in the future?

"Julia..." Flame began, looking at her tiredly. "It's too dark out. I can hardly see a thing."

"But we need to keep going," Julia reminded. "Those sableye can still see us in the dark."

"I have a better idea. Let's find a hiding spot, sleep for a bit, and wait until morning. That way, we can throw them off and rest ourselves at the same time."

It was quiet for a moment as Julia thought about it, until a voice said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Morning won't come."

Julia stared at Flame, then whipped her head in the direction of the voice. A small, dark figure crouched on one of the floating boulders, then leapt down and landed in front of the cave entrance.

_It can't be!_

"We're glad to see you made it out of there," the Pokémon said as he walked towards them, his tone of voice lighthearted. "Otherwise, who would we travel with?"

Flame blinked hard, then exclaimed, "Lucky?!"

Lucky giggled. "The one and only!" He bowed deeply.

"What are you doing here?!" Julia said as she ran over to hug the riolu. He nuzzled against her chest then sniffed.

"Wow, that looks pretty bad," he said, taking a step back to look at her injuries. "Doesn't smell infected, though. Heya, Perry, where are you, ya bloke?"

Carefully, Perry flew down from another floating rock that he had been perched on and landed next to his brother.

"Lucky," he murmured, "are you sure about...?"

"Don't be such a worrywart!" Lucky said. "The sableye aren't after the two of _us_."

Flame frowned. "Lucky, what did you say about the morning? That it won't come?"

"Yep. You heard me right."

"B-but...why not?"

Lucky held up a paw and shook his head. "We don't have a lot of time. If those sableye catch you, it'll all be over. We need to get through Chasm Cave, and we'll try to tell you on the way what's going on. Now, follow us!" He dashed into the cave opening, followed by his brother, and Julia and Flame had no choice but to go after them.

_Why are Perry and Lucky here?_ she wondered, trying to follow the brothers closely. _How do they know what's going on? And how did Lucky know the name of this cave?!_

Darkness engulfed them the moment they stepped into the cave. It was very unlike any of the caves Julia and Flame had ventured through; though the others were dark, there was always a crack somewhere through which sunlight could stream in, or a hidden light source, or something. Here, there was no light at all and Lucky didn't look like he was about to light a torch any time soon. He just whispered to them to follow behind him and crept away. Julia nearly lost him in the darkness, it was so black.

Flame began, "Hey, Lu – " but was cut off by an insistent hush.

"Quietly, please," Lucky murmured, almost too quietly for Julia to hear. "The Pokémon around here are very aggressive and often form monster houses – when they all spring out at you at once? I want to avoid fighting if possible, at least until your wounds have healed a bit."

He broke off when maniacal giggling echoed through the cave, though from very far away. It only took one encounter with the sableye to have their laugh burned into one's memory. Without realizing it, Julia began to pick up her pace a little.

At the speed the group travelled at, they soon exited the mystery dungeon and emerged on another area where the ground appeared to be floating. Rocks dotted the sky, as if they had broken off of something then stopped in mid-fall.

"Ugly, isn't it?" Lucky sighed, crossing his paws. "The present is a much bleaker place than the past."

"So, you were going to tell us about...y'know..." Julia prompted. Flame was giving Lucky an odd look when she glanced at him, but Lucky didn't appear to have noticed.

"Yep. I guess we have some time now, so I'll tell you." Sitting down at the edge of a pool of water, a frozen trickle coming down the rock wall, he said, "In the present, the sun doesn't rise. It's like Dusknoir said in the past." He smiled bitterly. "The planet has been paralyzed."

_The planet is paralyzed?!_

"But...that can't be!" Julia blurted out. "I mean, we stopped Grovyle from taking the Time Gears! And the lake guardians were supposed to return the Time Gears to their rightful places!"

Lucky let out a dry laugh. "The Time Gears? Oh, of course, they're supposed to solve _everything_!"

"Brother, the sableye," Perry warned, seeming to fly out of nowhere to land on Lucky's arm and clench it a bit with his talons. Lucky stared at him blankly for a moment then shook his head as if to clear it and stood up.

"You're right. We'd better get going now."

He had stood and was about to continue when Flame yelled, "Hang on! How do you know all this?! You followed us here and would've arrived at the same time! How can you know this much?!"

After Perry and Lucky exchanged a glance, Perry replied, "We might have followed you in, but Dusknoir's henchmen weren't after us, so we were able to get away from that stockade without any problem. There's this town near the stockade, and we visited there for a while and gathered information. Long story short, we were about to go through Chasm Cave when we saw Grovyle approaching, so we hid and waited to see if you guys would come out, too. And you did. We overheard you talking about the sableye and I figured you meant Dusknoir's sableye."

Flame nodded, frowning, and opened his mouth to say something more, but thought better of it and closed it again.

"So you don't know much more than we do," Julia guessed, to which the brothers shook their heads. "And you don't know what the deal with Dusknoir and Grovyle is?"

"Sorry," Lucky said. "We wish we could help more."

"That's okay," Julia told him. "I just wish we could know for certain what's going on." Her eyes scanned her surroundings and landed on the frozen trickle of water into the pool.

_If I can get my Dimensional Scream to activate, I might be able to catch a glimpse into the past or future to see what's going on!_

She walked over to the pool and reached down a paw to touch the surface. The water felt solid under her paw, like glass, but she couldn't figure out its temperature. In fact, she couldn't even tell if the air around her was warm or cool. Closing her eyes, she waited for a vision.

"What are you – " Flame began, then realized, "Are you trying to get a Dimensional Scream?"

Julia nodded soundlessly, waiting. Nothing was coming to her at all. She leaned away from the water's edge and sighed.

"Nothing. Sorry."

"It's okay." Flame put a paw on her shoulder comfortingly. "It might have been useful, I guess, but..." He sighed and shook his head. "Let's get going now before those sableye find us."

The four of them walked silently along until they reached a dark hill covered in dead weeds and trees. Julia could see the translucent forms of ghost Pokémon floating about silently and she shivered.

"I think that breloom called this Dark Hill," Lucky murmured, scanning it. "Lots of Pokémon have died here, and that's why there's so many ghosts."

"Died?!" Flame echoed, his eyes widening in horror. Lucky went on as if Flame had never spoken.

"If we cross it quickly, I'm certain we can lose the sableye." He beckoned to Flame and Julia with a hand and they followed him and Perry. The ghosts were unrelenting in their attacking and they would often attack from within boulders or the ground so they were impossible to hit. Perry led the ghosts away from his brother to attack them separately. Even when Lucky had to face one himself, he was light on his feet and easily dodged most attacks.

_There's something weird about these two,_ Julia thought to herself as she struck a haunter with Thunderbolt. _They know something that they're not telling us, and there's something else... But I can't put my finger on it..._

The hill became more rocky as they ascended and the wild Pokémon fewer. There still seemed to be nothing more than blackness, dead plants, and floating stones, and the only sounds were their heavy breathing and the eerie giggles of the sableye, who seemed to be getting closer. Julia stole a glance at Flame from time to time, but he never caught her eye. He was keeping his eyes closed and his fists were clenched tightly. It wasn't difficult to imagine what he was feeling. This future was giving Julia a sick feeling.

"Alright! We made it to the top of the hill!" Lucky announced brightly. "It's all downhill from here..." He squinted down the path. "I think."

They were in a flat, narrow area. Both sides fell away steeply. On one side, there appeared to be nothing; like before, it was impossible to see the ground below and it seemed like there simply was no ground. On the other side, however, a dark valley spread out, dotted by distant yellow lights.

"You've gotta take a look at this!" Flame exclaimed, rushing over to the edge. "It's like the stars fell down over here!"

"Wow! You're right about that!" Lucky stood on the very edge, leaning forwards in awe, and suddenly lost his balance and tumbled off the side. Before either Flame or Julia could cry out, Perry dove over the side and dug his claws into the riolu's shoulders. With difficultly, he dragged him back up, his wings beating furiously.

"Be careful!" Perry scolded, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground. "It's not your time quite yet, idiot!"

"Shush!" Lucky glanced back down the path. "Not so loud, or they'll hear you!"

"The sableye are practically deaf!"

"So that's why they didn't hear us when Grovyle was coming up with a plan with us on how to escape," Julia realized. Her ears drooped and she added, "So those lights must be from the stockade."

Flame stared out a moment more, then sighed and sat down heavily. "Why do we have to run away like this? Is this our fate? To just run forever?"

"Of course not!" Julia insisted. "We're getting home!"

"Yes, but...but how?" There was a tiredness in the way he spoke. "Dusknoir opened a dimensional hole to return here, but now he's sent the sableye to kill us... He helped us so much...but he wants us dead...and even though we stopped Grovyle, we couldn't stop the planet from becoming paralyzed..." His eyes were slightly open and they had begun to fill with tears. "I don't get it! Who are we supposed to trust here?! Can we even trust anyone?!"

"Come on, guys!" Lucky called out. "We've rested for long enough; we need to leave now or the sableye'll catch us!"

Flame trembled and murmured, "They'll catch us sooner or later, won't they? I don't care anymore." The words struck Julia like sharp claws. Flame had given up hope?!

Fiercely, she said, "What about home? And the guild? Does this mean that you don't care if we never see them again?" Realizing that what she was saying was making Flame flinch, she softened her voice and went on, "And Sharpedo Bluff? You said we'd live there together."

"Yeah, but there's no way for us to get back – "

"There is." Steeling herself, Julia said, "Grovyle entered our world, too. Maybe he knows how to get back there."

"Grovyle?!" Flame stood up and glared. "Are you saying we should go after him?"

She nodded. "He's the only hope we've got, Flame. He's not on Dusknoir's side, so maybe he's on ours."

Flame was silent for a moment, then he stormed away back towards the base of Dark Hill. As if by reflex, Perry took off and landed in front of him.

"They're close enough as it is!" he chirped. "We can't go back there! Are you out of your mind?!"

"I'm going to see Dusknoir!" Flame yelled, trying to step around him. "I need to talk to him! To ask him why he's doing this!"

"He'll kill you!" Perry snapped. "Julia's right. The only one we can trust, even a little bit, is Grovyle. We all want to go back, and our best chance is to go through him!"

With a defeated sigh, Flame turned back around to look at Julia. "Maybe you're right. I don't trust him at all, but..."

"What if," Julia said to him, "that time we were with Uxie, at Fogbound Lake, and I said I didn't think Grovyle was a bad Pokémon, I was right?"

Flame wiped at his face with a paw and nodded. "Maybe. Alright." He walked over to her and put a paw on her shoulder, then nuzzled her face. "Let's get out of this hellhole and go home. Let's find Grovyle."

He began to walk away, then glanced over at Julia. "...Thank you, Julia. For trying to cheer me up." A small smile appeared on his face before he turned his head away. "Now, come on. We've given those sableye plenty of time to catch up to us." Julia walked over to his side and took his paw, smiling back at him. She caught a glimpse of Lucky looking back at them with a downcast expression.

Then he turned away again, yelled, "Let's go, guys!" and raced down the other side of the hill.

* * *

After they each ate an apple from the brown bag that was slung around Lucky's shoulder, they headed into the ruins of some great structure, long destroyed by becoming a mystery dungeon. Since the path hadn't diverged at all from the stockade to the point they were currently at, it was to be assumed that if they hurried, they could catch up to Grovyle, who would have had to travel this route as well.

The Pokémon here were vicious but weak and, thanks to Lucky and Perry's help, it wasn't difficult to journey through. The brothers were mostly silent, a welcome relief from their usual talkativeness they had had at the guild. However, Lucky's behaviour was a little unsettling. He really was serious, even more so than Perry.

"I think we've reached the lowest – " Lucky began as they entered a room, then halted suddenly. Julia and Flame peered around him and gasped. Grovyle lay on the floor twitching, surrounded by a purplish-pink light. His teeth were clenched and he looked like he was trying to get up.

"Grovyle!" Julia called out, rushing forwards. Flame quickly followed behind, then Perry and Lucky.

"Stay back!" he said in a hoarse voice. "The spiritomb...there's a spiritomb in here!"

"What?!"

Lucky and Perry scanned the room quickly and backed away from a...rock. It was a small, triangular-shaped rock with a simple pattern carved on it, but the way the brothers were glaring at it, it might as well have been a groudon.

"That's...the spiritomb?" Flame asked slowly. "But...that's just a rock."

The rock bounced in the air, causing him to yelp and jump away.

"HOW DARE YOU MOCK US?" spoke a loud, echoing voice. "WE ARE MORE THAN A MERE ROCK!" A purple, swirling cloud emerged from the stone and a mouth and pair of eyes appeared in it. "WE WILL END ALL OF YOU!"

Though Julia could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears and she was backing away as well, Lucky just laughed.

"Wow, is that the best you've got?" he asked scathingly. "Look, we're just here for the grovyle, and then we'll leave. How does that sound?"

The spiritomb responded by shooting a ball of dark energy at him.

"It's a ghost and dark type, so I can't hit it," Lucky told Julia and Flame, "but you guys should be able to take it out easily. It's just a bunch of souls attached to a pebble!"

The hairs on the back of her neck raised, Julia faced the spiritomb and shot a Thunder attack at it as Flame hit it with Flamethrower and Perry with a flying type attack of sorts. Spiritomb screeched and hopped backwards once, then again, then retracted into the stone. The glow around Grovyle also returned to the stone and it hopped away, crying out all the while.

"What'd I tell you?" Lucky laughed. "No problem!"

"What the heck was going on with that thing?" Flame asked, staring after it. "It acted all high and mighty and attacked, then ran off the second it got hit?"

Julia suddenly remembered Grovyle and walked back over to his side. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"That spiritomb took over my body so I couldn't move," Grovyle managed, grunting with the effort of pushing himself up to his feet. "What a crafty little thing."

"Poor guy," Lucky commented. Grovyle glanced at him and frowned.

"You're that – "

"'Poor guy?'" Flame interrupted. "He attacked us!"

Shaking his head, Grovyle said, "He's been affected by the effect of time being stopped. Many perfectly good Pokémon just become aggressive in the present, even if they don't follow through with their threats; though I'm certain it's started happening in the past."

Julia began thinking back to the past, and Drowzee was the first Pokémon that came to her mind. Then the outlaw notice board, which had become increasingly full as time went on...

"So good Pokémon are turning bad..." Flame murmured, closing his eyes. "But whose fault is it that the planet is paralyzed?"

"Here is not the place to talk about this," Grovyle growled. "Come on, let's speak someplace else."

He walked away out a small, crumbled hole which could have been a doorframe in the past and out onto another floating path. The four followed behind him carefully. After less than a minute of keeping up the pace of a fast walk, Grovyle stopped by a large crevasse in the rock wall and ushered them in. Flame and Julia sat by the wall facing Grovyle, and Perry and Lucky sat beside them, the latter being close enough to the path to see out of the crevasse if need be.

"The sableye shouldn't be able to spot us immediately if we stay in here," Grovyle grunted as he sat down. He looked at each of them in turn, with a look in his eyes that asked, "So, what would you like to ask me?"

Flame swallowed, then said, "I want to know the truth. About the paralysis of the planet."

"I thought you said earlier that you don't trust me."

"I don't. Well, not entirely. I don't have to believe everything you say immediately, right?" Flame glanced at Julia, as if for approval on his statement, so she shrugged and nodded.

"Very well." Grovyle closed his eyes. "I will tell you what I know. After a long time of working on the issue, we managed to discover the most likely initial causes of the paralysis of the planet. What happened is that, around the time period that the four of you come from, the Temporal Tower, which had previously kept time in balance, began to collapse. With it, time began to create anomalies and mystery dungeons started forming across the planet, starting with those places that housed Time Gears, such as Steam Cave. Dialga, in turn, began to go insane when he found that he could no longer control time."

"Who's Dialga?" Julia interrupted. She knew that she had heard of the name before, but she could not place it. By the way Grovyle had said the name, it sounded as if there was only one dialga.

"Dialga is the god of time," explained Grovyle. "His presence is very prominent in our world. Unfortunately, in this future, it is a less than welcome presence. His madness has reverted him to a primal form, and he is known as Primal Dialga. All he knows or cares about now is his own self-preservation. Anyone who seeks to alter the course of history is considered an enemy. Thus, he had sent his henchman out to kill us. Of course, you have both already met Dusknoir."

_Dusknoir? Not that same Dusknoir who captured us?!_

Flame looked as if he was about to protest hotly, but his narrowed eyes lost their fire almost immediately. It was impossible to deny that Dusknoir wasn't here to help them.

"That's the exact opposite of what he told us," Julia mused. "He said that you came from the future to stop time and he came to prevent you from doing that."

Scoffing, Grovyle replied, "Of course he would spew bullshit like that! No, I came to collect the Time Gears and place them in Temporal Tower. They would have stopped the tower from collapsing and time from stopping. Unfortunately, he has made things awfully difficult for us. All of the Time Gears have been returned and now I'm here in the present again."

Looking defeated, Flame exchanged a glance with Julia. He looked like he was begging her to yell at Grovyle that he was wrong, that Dusknoir would never do that, that they didn't believe him and they were leaving without him. But she sighed and shook her head.

"Maybe you're right, Grovyle," she said at last. "What you've said makes more sense than anything else here. And aside from Perry and Lucky, we don't have anyone else to trust."

Grovyle narrowed his eyes and glanced at the brothers. "Perry...and Lucky?" he echoed, causing them to turn and look at him. "Interesting names. From what I've seen in the past, Pokémon seldom have names, and if they do, they're fitting."

"You kidding?" Lucky woofed cheerfully. "I've been the luckiest guy in the world! I've got my awesome brother here, and we survived here in the future! It's the fitting-est name for me!"

"Right." Then, Grovyle turned to Flame and Julia. "So, if the two of you trust me, then we had better not delay here. The sableye are fast and could catch up to us at any time. Before we go, however, I would like to know your names. If you have them, that is."

"Sure," Flame said with a shrug. "I'm Flame and – "

"Actually!" Lucky suddenly interrupted in a voice that was just a bit too loud. "Actually, Grovyle, and both of you, as well – " He looked at Flame and Julia briefly. " – there's something we need to say. Something that Perry and I have kept from you."

"Lucky, don't," Perry said warningly, his voice full of terror and his eyes wide.

Shaking his head at him, Lucky went on, "Perry and I...we aren't from the past at all. We arrived there maybe a moon before Grovyle did."

"Wait, what are you saying?!" Julia exclaimed, standing up so suddenly that she hit her head on the slanted wall. Flame looked bewildered and Grovyle had a disbelieving look on his face.

"We come from the present. This dark world is our home. And we came to the past to make things right. We came...to take the Time Gears."


	35. Chapter 35

**In which Flame becomes a portable stove and McMister 'hmms' and 'mmms' too frequently to be anything but annoying.**

**Read, review, rinse, repeat, enjoy.**

* * *

"Are you sure? Route twenty-nine is a – ?"

Leo's face was buried in his knees and he was rocking slightly. Julia could tell that he wasn't in his house – a hotel, maybe? The walls seemed too drab of a green to be comforting.

"Y-yes," he mumbled, his voice muffled, "I was j-just taking him for – for a w-walk, and there was a wind, and mom was – mom was – she – "

"Hey, calm down," Julia quickly said to him, feeling uncomfortable. Leo wasn't what one would call a crybaby, but when he did cry, it twisted her heart to watch. "Maybe, if you want to call me back later, when you're feeling better, we – "

"No no no, don't hang up!" Leo protested, pulling the Pokégear closer to his face. "Please, I – I need to tell you – " He coughed into the crook of his elbow before turning back to the screen. Julia felt Jordan's breath hot on her neck as he peered at the screen over her shoulder, but Leo didn't mention him. His eyes looked serious. "These pl-places have some sort of energy. Arcanine got – got all hyped up, or something, and he was totally different. Like, he wanted to fight. Almost like the Pokémon in there." He swallowed, then went on, "If more of them are appearing across the planet, we could be in serious trouble. Everybody. What if all the Pokémon went rogue? Like, think of a tyranitar smashing down a building, or a legendary Pokémon! It would be the end of the world!"

_That's hard to believe with what I've seen,_ Julia thought, hoping the doubt didn't show on her face. _I mean, Ilex Forest was bad the first time, but it got easier after that. If more places turned into mystery dungeons, wouldn't we be fine as long as we either stayed away or knew how to safely get through?_

"Pokémon going rogue, eh?" That was Jordan, who was speaking now for the first time. He wore a speculative frown. "That sounds kinda familiar." He stared off into the distance, but Julia wasn't done talking with Leo yet.

"You're definitely putting all that on your blog, right?" she asked, beginning to sense that her Pokémon were getting antsy. They wanted to leave the city, as did she. She began walking with the Pokégear, and she heard Fluffy let out an audible groan.

"Y-yeah. When I get home." Leo's eyes were wide, half-crazed. "Oh, gods, now I'm talking about the end of the world." He grinned humourlessly. "I must sound insane."

"'S 'cause he is," muttered Fluffy. Flame shushed her.

"No, no, you've got a point." Julia smiled encouragingly at him. "Put it on your site so people know. You've got a following, right?"

For a moment, Leo said nothing. His grin had melted like warm, sticky ice cream. "I miss Corphish. I miss him so much." He pressed a hand against his forehead. "If he were here, maybe I could keep doing this. He always helped me in the past. I could talk to him for hours, and hours..." Leo shuddered, closing his eyes. "Oh, gods..."

There came the sound of a door opening and Leo suddenly cut the connection. As Julia listened to the dull beeps that signalled an ended call, she realized that she never did find out what exactly had happened. Something to do with his mother? Had she gotten hurt?

"What's up with that Leo dude?" Jordan asked, poking at Julia's shoulder. "What's a mystery dungeon?"

Julia tried to brush his hand away but he continued to poke her. "Flame was telling us at breakfast." _Or, rather, t_rying _to tell us._ Somebody _wouldn't shut up for long enough to pay attention._ "It's a place, like Ilex Forest, that turns into a labyrinth and the Pokémon inside it become vicious. Apparently, 'mystery dungeon' is the name for it." The name sounded vaguely familiar when Flame had said it, but the way the words rolled off her own tongue sounded wrong.

That reminded her of the rant Flame had gone on that morning, about them having the same dreams. The image of Flame's confused face as she changed the subject was burned in her retinas. Julia closed her eyes, forcing the thought to leave. Nothing needed to be out of the ordinary. There were just the mystery dungeons, and maybe Team Fury, but besides that, everything was normal. Perfectly normal, just like always.

"Oh, that's right!" Jordan suddenly stopped poking Julia's shoulder, where she was certain there would be a bruise later, and grinned at her. "You went back into Ilex Forest, didn't you?"

Julia blinked. "P-pardon?"

"Your mom told'ja not to go back in," he explained, "but lo and behold, you're mentioned in the papers the next day! You should've seen how pissed she was!"

Julia had forgotten entirely about her mother's request for her to not go into the forest. Now that she remembered it, she flushed with guilt. "But I had to help Bugsy!" she protested defensively. "He called me and told me to come!"

"Suppose he planned a trap, though?" Jordan said, waggling his fingers. "A trap for little girls to fall into!"

That brought on more guilt. It had been a trap, and she had led her own Pokémon into danger by falling for it.

They had exited through the gate by now and were heading up Route thirty-five. There was a bite of cold in the air that Julia hadn't noticed before, and a few trainers up the path were dressed in hoodies with scarves draped loosely their necks. Julia guessed that the drinks in the coffee cups some of the girls held between their palms were pumpkin spice lattes.

"So, as a result," Jordan went on, walking backwards so he could face Julia as he spoke, "your mom was ready to send you home. She was all, 'That Julia is so irresponsible blah-blah-blah!' and, 'She's too stupid and little to go on a journey yet!' but I managed to talk her out of it and so all that I need to do is stick with you and make sure you don't fall off a cliff and die or anything!"

Julia shoved him, lightly, but his words stung. Had her mom really said those things about her? Or was Jordan just being stupid again?

"That sounds fair, I guess," Julia sighed. Jordan patted her on the head, each fall of his hand a heavy thump.

"I'm only gonna stick around 'til I can see if you're capable, Jules," he assured. "Then you can go off on your own. Besides, I have ranger duties I need to do! Each of us'll slow the other down, am I right?"

Smiling slightly, Julia nodded. Jordan gave her an approving smirk and dashed off down the path in the direction of a woman with very generous breasts. Looking away, already feeling embarrassed for him, Julia glanced at the trainers clustered about. Perhaps it would do her some good to challenge some of them.

"Hey, uh, Julia..." Flame approached Julia's side with her head turned away a bit. "Um, about this morning..."

"Hey, you!" a teenage boy yelled at Julia from behind her. "I like how you're showing off your arsenal! Let's battle, two on two!"

Julia sighed heavily in relief and turned around to face him. He had let out a raichu and simipour and was grinning at her questioningly. She glanced at Fluffy, who was already bristling, and commanded, "Fluffy, Sir Majestic Tail, you're up!" The two glanced at each other, then dashed up to meet their opponents eagerly.

"Uh, Julia – " Flame began again, only to be cut off by Julia.

"Can we talk about that later? I need to concentrate right now." Flame stared at her, her eyes full of protest, but she sighed and lowered her head.

_Nothing out of the ordinary. Just another day, like every other..._

* * *

"Hey, hey, shh, it's alright, hon..."

The woman rocked her daughter on her lap, holding her firmly against her chest. Moonlight dribbled in through the wide window with its curtains drawn back, and the yellow light from the hallway was splashed on the carpeted floor from the open door. The girl clutched her manaphy plushie tightly in her fists, her small body shaking with each sob. Her watery eyes were still fixed on her closet, its sliding door slightly ajar to reveal the darkness inside.

"J-Jordan said there – there's a d-darkrai living in m-my closet," she whimpered, curling up against her mother's body. The woman breathed out deeply, then stroked the girl's orange hair.

"Well, you know how Jordan is, don't you?" she reminded, shifting on the bed. "He likes to tell you that dark type Pokémon are bad, doesn't he?"

The girl said nothing, staring at the closet. Then, quietly, she mumbled, "I think the door's opening a little."

The woman looked at the closet, too, then she stood with her daughter held against her hip and walked over to the light switch. The girl blinked hard in the bright light but gasped and buried her face into the plushie's head when her mother threw open the closet door.

"Look, there's nothing in here but your dirty clothes!" her mother exclaimed, laughing lightly. "What a mess! If anything, you've got rattatas living in here!"

Cautiously, the girl looked up and into the closet. Her eyes watered. If there was no darkrai, then why were the shadows in there flickering? Leo had come in and said that her room was definitely haunted! And Leo was never wrong!

"Honey, don't let what Jordan says bother you," her mother said, pulling the closet shut again. "I'll have to have a talk with him later, but – "

"There really is a monster! I keep getting bad dreams!"

The woman sighed, exasperated. She was tired from the recurring late nights when her daughter awoke screaming. "Julia, you only get bad dreams when you think of scary things. That's how Darkrai works – he only wants to scare you. He can't create real nightmares." She set Julia down and stroked her cheek gently. "When things seem scary, all you have to do is pretend they don't exist. Watch!"

She stood up, with her hands planted firmly on her hips, and yelled, "Scary, go AWAY!" Julia put her hands over her ears, but she looked more curious than afraid now. Her mother looked back at her and smiled. "Now, you try!"

Julia looked at the shut closet door, then took in a deep breath and yelled in her loudest voice, "SCARY GO AWAY!"

"That was very good!" her mother praised. "That darkrai must have been scared away for good!" She lifted Julia up and set her back on her bed, then picked up the dropped manaphy plushie and returned it to her. There was still doubt in Julia's eyes, and her gaze flicked to the closet, but it was clear that she wasn't scared anymore.

Julia's mother turned off the light, whispered a 'good night,' and crept out of the room, slowly closing the door behind her. For a moment, Julia remained sitting upright on her bed, then she stood up on the soft mattress and screamed again, "SCARY GO AWAY!"

The force of her shout made her flop back onto her back and she couldn't help but giggle. Then, curling up with her manaphy, she closed her eyes and began to drift off.

* * *

"Lisa treated me better than you ever did!"

"Shut the hell up! I don't want you to fucking say that slut's name to me ever again!"

"You don't fucking tell me what I can or can't say!"

Jordan, clad in his blue-and-white pyjamas, stood with his back pressed against the wall, peeking out every now and then. His wooper, McMister, gently pushed his head against Julia's arm. She was curled up with her hands over her ears, her eyes shut as tightly as she could.

"You never cared about our children, did you? It always 'Lisa this' and 'Lisa that!' I'm sick and tired of your bullshit!"

"What about all your goddamn excuses? One night you're too tired, the next you're busy with work or some shit like that!"

"At least I actually work to support the family! And you just keep acting like a fucking freeloader!"

"You bitch!"

Tears squeezed out of Julia's eyes and she rocked forwards and back, pushing her hands against her ears more. Jordan placed a hand on her head and whispered, "It's okay, Jules. Parents fight all the time. They'll make up eventually." His voice wavered and cracked, like a radio being tuned. He wasn't stupid.

Julia began to mumble quietly, her breaths hot on her knees. "Scary, go away, scary, go away, scary, go away..." She started sobbing and her body trembled. In the background, like a TV playing in another room, the two people she loved the most in the world kept screeching at each other. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she didn't want to. She wanted to erase it. She wanted to erase everything.

* * *

Julia sat up suddenly and let out a gasp. But instead of staring down the winding passage of a scorching hot cavern, all that was in front of her was her familiar bedroom wall. She whirled her head around, then sighed and dropped back onto her pillow. Though she dreamt of the seemingly endless caverns and forests each night, not always were they this vivid. Some nights, she hardly had any recollection of those dreams. Never had she awoken in the middle of the night from one, however. At least, not since she was a little girl.

She let her gaze flick over to the heaping mound of plushies piled on the corner of her bed against the wall. When she was younger, she would surround herself in as many as she could – a few at her feet, bordering her legs and body, and one above her head and one on either side to keep watch for monsters. She had outgrown that habit long ago, but she still plucked one off the pile to squeeze in her arms.

Julia held it against her chest, then pulled it back to look at it. It was one of her pikachu plushies; she had gotten it recently from Jordan after he came home from spending time with his own parents. But something about it felt off to her. The precise and accurate size of its body, the way the ears flopped over, the fork in its tail... No, it didn't feel off. It felt...familiar. It made a shiver run through her body.

Then she got an odd feeling. Something wasn't right. And yet it was. And whatever it was was connected to her dreams. And there was something important she was forgetting. Her hands trembled, and she threw the plushie across the room. The feeling faded.

Nothing was wrong. It had just been an odd moment brought on by the suddenness of the awakening from the dream. Julia closed her eyes and let out another sigh, then rummaged through the plushie pile again, looking for something that wasn't an electric type. She pulled out a treecko with skinny limbs and oversized tail, but the feeling suddenly returned, like a shock of electricity. Dropping it, she tried to steady her breath.

Nothing was wrong. There was no reason that either plushie should feel familiar to her. She'd never met either Pokémon in real life, never had a bad experience with them, nothing to scar her. Her mind was playing tricks on her, in this consuming blackness of the night. Julia cautiously took a chikorita. Nothing.

Of course nothing was wrong. Her dreams...everybody got recurring dreams, right? Dreams of searching for something tirelessly, growing closer to the goal each night, each month, each year...

Julia lay back in her bed and wrapped her arms tightly around the chikorita. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, then over her head.

_Scary, go away, scary, go away, scary, go away..._

* * *

Flame cast a sidelong glance at Julia. The girl's expression was just one of annoyance at Jordan, who had been talking with the busty lady throughout the entire battle, from which Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail had emerged victorious. Did she really not care about the fact that their dreams were oddly similar? Whenever Flame tried to bring up the topic, Julia brushed it off or changed the subject. She couldn't possibly be that dense.

_We could be on the verge of figuring all this out, and she refuses to talk about it!_ Flame thought frustratedly. _Doesn't she want to make sense of our situation? Why there seem to be so many links between us?_

From the very start, when Julia had taken her to the Hungry Clauncher, Flame had felt like she could open up to her, tell her everything about her past and all her feelings. But Julia wouldn't even tell her why she didn't want to talk about it. Flame wasn't upset or angry, but it pained her to feel like the closeness she felt with Julia was just one-sided.

"Ah, smell that fresh autumn air!" Sir Majestic Tail sighed, trotting with his head held high. "In no time at all, leaves will be dropping all around us!"

"Don't be stupid, Fire-Butt," Fluffy smirked. "It's technically still late summer."

Flame felt her stomach turn as they passed through the gate that led to National Park. It was there that she had found out Fluffy's partnership with Team Fury. She wanted to believe her and Sir Majestic Tail when they said they had had no choice, but doubt still lingered.

"Oh, I haven't been here in ages!" called out Jordan, skipping ahead with his arms outstretched. "I love this place!"

Julia let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan and skulked after him. People only gave Jordan passing glances as he danced along the path. The grand fountain that spurted splashes of water into its basin was filled with Pokémon; mostly water, grass, and bug types. Their trainers were laughing and splashing them, and one little girl had hitched up her skirt to wade about in it with her surskit.

"Let's stop for a snack!" Jordan exclaimed to Julia, rushing over to poke through her bag. She yanked it away from him and snapped, "It's hardly noon! If we really hurry, we can make it to Ecruteak in time for a late lunch!"

Jordan crossed his arms defiantly. "No, we can't. We'll get there at five, at the earliest. We should eat lunch here while we have the chance!"

"Come on, be reasonable!"

Julia and Jordan broke into arguing and, to make matters worse, Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail seemed to be also angry with each other – or, at least, loud. They were yelling about something or other, but they both wore grins.

_Geez, they're like an old married couple or something,_ Flame thought. She glanced at McMister, but he didn't appear to be keen on talking. He was simply gazing out at the remaining flowers and the beedrills who buzzed around them. Flame sat back on her haunches, still in a state of refusal to use her front paws for walking, and was surprised when the quagsire began talking.

"That ponyta is certainly annoying, hmm?"

Flame blinked a few times, then glanced back at Sir Majestic Tail, who currently appeared to be flirting with an unaffected-looking Fluffy. "I guess so. He's not too bad once you get to know him, though."

Letting out a slow, heavy breath, McMister looked to the carpet of white-grey clouds above them. "He has, mmm, helped me, however."

"Yeah? How's that?"

"Helped me, mmm, to remember."

A wind began to blow softly, causing half-shrivelled petals on the ground to skitter across the ground. "Remember, eh? Just outta curiosity, how old are you, anyways?"

McMister was silent for a moment. "I have been, hmm, with Jordan for seven years, but may have, mmm, lived another year before that. So, in case you had been, mmm, wondering, I am fairly young, hmm?"

"Right."

After that, both of them said nothing more. Flame didn't feel the need to enquire further, and McMister didn't seem to care to tell her more. When Flame glanced over at Julia, the girl had her arms crossed while Jordan was grinning. By the looks of it, he had won the argument. Flame wandered over to Julia and tapped her arm.

"So, what? Are we going to eat lunch soon?"

Sighing, Julia nodded. "Yeah. Jordan's been here before, and it apparently takes way longer to Ecruteak city than I thought. And he says he's brought noodle bowls..." She gestured to the small, brown backpack he had on his back. "...And now that I think of it, I am kinda hungry..."

Flame smiled at her and the girl smiled back. "Food always wins out, doesn't it?" Flame snickered.

"Yeah-heh, well..."

"Well, thank goodness!" Sir Majestic Tail whinnied, tossing his head back as he bounced over. "I am positively _ravenous_, and those late flowers look scrumptious!"

Scratching his head, Jordan asked, "How do those taste?" Sir Majestic Tail looked taken aback but quickly regained his composure.

"Well, if you are curious, why not sample some?"

Before Julia could protest, Jordan had plucked a petal off a rose and had popped it in his mouth. "Oh, hey, it's not bad at – mmph!" He suddenly spat it out and began vigourously wiping off his tongue with his hands. "Gross! Yuck, yuck, yuck! This is awful!" He gave Sir Majestic Tail a pained look as the ponyta began munching a flower with a satisfied look in his eyes. "How can you eat this stuff? It tastes like boot!"

_You've tasted boot? _Flame was tempted to say as she stifled a giggle. Sir Majestic Tail shrugged delicately at Jordan and ate another flower. Fluffy, too, seemed to enjoy the taste of half-dead petals, as she had joined in on eating. A park official in a blue jacket gave them a sidelong glance and grimaced, but made no attempts to stop them. Not like the flowers were going to last much longer, anyways. And if they didn't eat them, the stantlers Flame had spotted fleetingly between the trees probably would.

After Jordan had sufficiently wiped all traces of the petal from his mouth, he pulled out two Poké Ball-sized round-bottomed white containers and pulled back the lids of each. There were some hard, pale yellow squiggly things at the bottom of the cup Julia got, and a small package inside, which Julia ripped open to dump its powdery yellow contents into the cup.

"Now take it over to the fountain," Jordan instructed, "and fill it with water. Flame, would you please heat up the cups once that step is done?"

Flame looked at the containers doubtfully. She didn't know how some hot water was going to turn those squiggly things into a decent, half-edible lunch, but if he used these before, he must know what he was doing. Julia obediently took her cup over to the fountain and put it under one of the streams of water before taking it back to where Jordan was. His cup, though he hadn't filled it at the fountain, already had water in it.

_Mmm, tasty quagsire water, _she thought with a hint of disgust.

"Alright, Flame, heat 'em up!" Jordan said and Flame, slightly annoyed by his lack of courtesy, lit up the flames on her head and rump. The two cups only needed to be held over the fire for a half a minute before the water was steaming. Jordan pulled out a pair of chopsticks for both him and Julia, then stirred the stuff in the cup for a moment before slurping up some noodles with his chopsticks.

_Human inventions always weird me out. But it does smell good..._

As it turned out, it tasted good, too. The three of them sat on a bench, both of the humans sharing with their Pokémon. After she had eaten her fill, Flame leaned against Julia's body, her eyes closing. Though it wasn't too cold, Julia was shivering slightly. A hand gently stroked Flame's head and she pushed against it. Then, realizing that a human probably wouldn't be acting like a cat while being stroked, she quickly stopped and just let Julia continue to pet her.

When a second hand began scratching her under her chin, Flame opened her eyes to glare at Jordan, who pulled his hand away.

"But you looked so adorable being petted like that!" he whined. "Don't you like being babied?"

Flame bristled and hopped off the bench to face him. In afterthought, she would have looked more intimidating standing on the bench, but it would look silly if she climbed back up.

"I don't mind Julia stroking me, but I'm not a pet espurr or something! Treat me like an equal!"

Jordan blinked in surprise and folded his arms. "Geez, no need to get so worked up about it! You only need to ask! I mean, McMister here..." He glanced back at the quagsire, who was staring off into the distance with a blank expression. "I sometimes forget he's a Pokémon! He's, like, my brother! A really slow, really dense, brother."

McMister just gave him a long, hard look that he maintained for half a minute too long to be effective before staring away again.

"S-sorry," Flame mumbled embarrassedly. "I guess I get a bit defensive."

"No need to worry!" Jordan bent down and ruffled the fur on her head. "I bet you and Jules are like sisters, too, eh?"

Somehow, that made Flame feel even worse. She sank back and looked away. "Not really, I don't think..."

Either he didn't catch her last comment or he ignored it, because he stretched his arms out and announced loudly, "Welp, let's get going! We've gotta lot of ground to cover, and if that sudowoodo's back, we'd better flush him away again, eh, McMister?"

"Since when do you announce when we go?" Julia grumbled, crumpling her cup and tossing it into the nearby garbage can.

"I'm the leader!" Jordan replied. "I say when we charge!"

"I love the human language." Fluffy had somehow materialized by Flame's side, having finished her lunch some time ago. "Pokémon can't use puns. A sad state of affairs, really."

Flame, feeling fairly certain that no pun had been said, thought about it then suggested, "Well, it might be possible in footprint runes."

"Oh, like those in the Ruins of Alph?" At Flame's bewildered expression, Fluffy explained, "Their nighttime security is really lacking for a place filled with traces of an ancient civilization. I think there might actually be some innuendos written there. There's a lot of primeape footprints used, if you know what I mean." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Flame did not know what she meant. All she knew was that she suddenly had a longing to return to the Ruins, whether she would be ambushed by furious unowns or not. Preferably the not.

However, that was not on the list of things to do for the day, so she followed Jordan's lead and walked behind him on the path bordering the tall grass in the park. Julia was only in a grouchy mood for a short while but she began to seem more cheerful as they passed through the gate that led out to Route thirty-six. It was a twisty, wooded route with nidorans creeping by through the grasses. There were trainers here and there, but none of them were too strong, save for one girl who had a rhyperior. Flame was tossed about by it like a stray leaf in a gusty wind and all of her fiery attacks were good for nothing. She woke up from fainting to see some odd, pointy object being held in front of her face.

"See, Jules?" Jordan was saying. "Max revives work like charms! Well, that's 'cause they kind of are charms, but you get what I'm saying."

Flame sat up and rubbed her neck. Fainting was an unfamiliar sensation. She hadn't actually been allowed to faint since...since her time with Noah...

The memory hit her like a bullet seed and she flopped onto her back. She couldn't doubt that Noah still wanted her back. But, at this point, returning to him would just about kill her. Her friends, the mysteries, the fun she was having...

"Come on, lazybones," Fluffy bleated, zapping Flame with a bolt of electricity. That got Flame right up to her paws with a pained yelp.

"What gives, Fluffy?!" she growled. "That really hurt!"

Fluffy flashed her a grin. "If you're gonna be a wuss about me giving you a tiny little shock, then don't act like roadkill!"

Flame still grumbled at that but she couldn't argue with her.

The trees were lit up by the warm glow of the setting sun as Jordan cheerfully marched through the arch over the entrance to Ecruteak city. Julia had known that the city was beautiful, but she had not expected it to look quite like this. All the buildings seemed to resonate with an oriental feeling, with their red, slanted roofs and black-and-white panelled walls. Almost every house had a few bushy trees growing beside it with a little lit up lantern standing by the door. The houses were arranged in a very linear fashion, in tidy little rows and columns along the cobbled roads. Even the Pokémon Centre was painted a subdued shade of violet to blend in.

Beyond the rows of houses was a tall, elegant tower. To the left of it were the smaller, charred remains of a second tower.

"This place reminds me of Violet city," Flame commented as her gaze flicked about.

"As elegant and charming as this city appears to be," said Sir Majestic Tail warily, "it does give off a queer aura. I feel as though I am being judged by some invisible being."

Jordan turned his grinning face back to them and said, "If there's anyone watching you, it's Ho-Oh!" He pointed at the tower on the right. "That's Ho-Oh's tower. Legend has it that it sits at the top, waiting for a worthy trainer to come challenge it. And that other tower was where Lugia, Ho-Oh's counterpart, would sit. But it got struck by lightning and burned down."

This legend was forever ingrained in Julia's mind. It was one of Johto's most well-known and well-beloved legend, if not the most. Leo loved it and would never shut up about it, especially after his parents took him to see the Burned Tower. Even Jordan, who was obsessed with becoming a ranger and not much else, would tell the story to Julia many times when she went to bed, sometimes with variations, like when it happened and which three Pokémon died.

According to the official story, three Pokémon, a jolteon, vaporeon, and flareon, became trapped in the tower and burned to death, only to be revived by Ho-Oh's ashes. Those three eeveelutions became the legendary Pokémon Raikou, Suicune, and Entei, respectively. Personally, Julia thought the story was nothing more than just a story; however, she could already see Flame's eyes lighting up.

"Is that true?" she asked excitedly. Jordan nodded in an over-the-top way.

"Yep! And three Pokémon who died in the tower were brought back to life by Ho-Oh as legendary Pokémon!" He raised his eyebrows at Julia's Pokémon, all of whom were beginning to look interested. "Wanna check it out and see if they're still there?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" Flame squeaked, bouncing on the spot. Sir Majestic Tail tossed his fiery mane and shrugged.

"I see no reason why not. Even if they are not present, such a building would be a valuable piece of history and heritage!"

Fluffy seemed to hesitate a bit before asking, "But it's burnt, right?"

"Like a cookie," Jordan affirmed.

"Wouldn't it be kind of dangerous?"

With a mock gasp, Sir Majestic Tail trotted over and patted her back awkwardly with his foreleg. "Oh, Fluffykins, don't tell me you're afraid! You, the arrogant, violent beast that you are, afraid of a burnt tower? Don't be ridiculous!"

However, Fluffy didn't seem to be comforted by that. She let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll go. But I'm not staying for longer than a few minutes, got it?"

_Sir Majestic Tail is right,_ Julia thought, frowning at Fluffy. _She really doesn't have any reason to be afraid._

Suddenly, Flame grabbed Julia's hand and said, "Then, let's go! I want to see this tower!" She began to walk forwards, pulling Julia along behind her. Jordan nodded at them and ran on ahead, leading the way to the tower. Before long, Julia had to pull her hand away from Flame so that they could both jog after him properly; however, Flame fell behind before too long, due to her walking on her hind legs.

Despite that, they all stopped at the tower at about the same time. Julia hadn't seen McMister running, but the next she saw him, he was once again at Jordan's side, looking sleepy as ever. Jordan then led them up the steps to the tower, which looked a lot larger now that they were this close.

"Most of the tourists come in late spring and the middle of the summer," Jordan explained as they walked, "so it ain't too busy right now. Too cold for all them Hoenn people."

The tower had no door, but there was a sign next to the doorframe listing a hefty fee for vandalism, as well as tourist notes in tiny print. Inside, it was dark, though some light dribbled in through the caving-in ceiling. Loose planks of wood and rocks were littered around the floor, and there was a ladder placed in the floor that led to the floor below. That floor was clearly visible through the huge hole in the middle of the room.

"Oh my, oh my!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, shying away from it. "Falling down there would certainly be painful, oh, I'm certain!"

"You talk too much, Fire-Butt," Flame smirked.

Fluffy was just silent, staring at the gaping hole with dull eyes. Julia felt as though there was something she should say to her, but she couldn't think of anything. As she was about to ask if she was feeling alright, someone came up the ladder and looked at the group, a hand on his hip.

"Quite the entourage we have here," he commented. He was a middle-aged man with tidy black hair and a powerful figure. He was dressed in all black, wearing a good-looking suit.

_He looks like he should be at an office or a corporation or something, the way he's dressed. What's a guy like him doing here?_

"Totally!" Jordan said, grinning. "We like to travel big, don't we?" He glanced back at everyone, who looked far more wary of the man than he did – save for McMister, of course, who was staring intently at a wooden beam over the far corner of the hole.

The man nodded at them and said, "Are you sightseeing here?"

"Yep!" Jordan began to answer, but Flame quickly interrupted, "We're actually trying to see if the legendary Pokémon are here."

Chuckling, the man said, "Unfortunately, they seldom return to this place anymore. I came to see if I could catch a glimpse of them, but alas. Nowhere to be found. So many mysteries these days, wouldn't you agree?"

Flame nodded enthusiastically. "I love mysteries! Oh, have you been to the Ruins of Alph? They should decode all of the messages!"

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves." The man walked around the ladder and came to stand in front of Flame. "We have not even introduced ourselves." He knelt a little and held out a hand to shake. "My name is Giovanni."

"I'm Flame! And that's Julia, and there's Jordan and McMister, and Fire-Butt and Fluffy."

_Gio...vanni? Why does that name sound familiar?_

Giovanni then stood and turned to Julia, again extending a hand. "At her introduction, I didn't quite manage to make out your name." He smiled in a slightly apologetic, businesslike way while Julia glowered internally.

Taking his hand, Julia said, "My name's Julia. Pleasure to meet you, Mister Gi – "

A wave of nausea rushed over her and she stumbled to the side. She could faintly make out him calling her name and attempting to steady her, but her vision was going black.

_Not this crap again...!_

A montage of images streaked across her vision. Two figures in a room, one of them talking on a phone; a boy sitting alone on a bench; a slowpoke with wide, terrified eyes; a red R; an old radio; a boy with crimson hair running away down a path, a hand trying to reach out for him –

She blinked awake to find herself leaning against the wall of the Burned Tower and with both Jordan's and Giovanni's eyes on her.

"Dude, you scared me for a second there!" Jordan gasped, lightly hitting her head with his palm. "What just happened?"

In the moment Julia took to think about her response, Flame piped up, "It happens sometimes. She'll black out and – " She suddenly cut herself off before continuing, "And it scares the shit out of all of us. Are you okay?"

Julia nodded blearily. It had been a while since she'd had a black out. She'd almost forgotten about them completely. But now her mind latched onto the memory of another vision she'd had, way back in Azalea town.

'Giovanni will pay.'

Could this be that same Giovanni? And could that red-haired boy in these visions have been Noah?

_Who is this guy?!_

Before she could gently ease herself back into the world of reality, a startled cry shattered her thoughts and forcibly dragged her back in. She quickly pushed past Giovanni and Jordan, nearly falling in the hole in the process. Flame rushed to her side and stared over the edge, trembling in horror. At the bottom, sprawled on the stone floor in a growing pool of blood, was Sir Majestic Tail.

He had fallen in.

* * *

**Funny how I always used to end the chapter on them going to sleep, and now it's almost always a cliffhanger. Man, I hope you readers all packed parachutes.**


	36. Chapter 36

**I have nothing to say to you people today.**

* * *

Flame stared at Lucky and Perry, unable to breathe. Perry looked almost relieved while Lucky looked grim. But Lucky's words echoed and bounced around in Flame's mind, consuming his thoughts like a swarm of carvahnas.

_They're...from the future. They came to the past with the same goal as Grovyle. Right. Okay. That's easy to grasp. Yep._

In a way, it made some sense, but Flame simply couldn't believe it. It seemed too convenient, too coincidental. There had to be some mistake.

"Is that so?" Grovyle asked, frowning. "Do you have any proof?"

Perry glanced at his brother, then said, "We were booted from the planetary council. They destroyed all information about us. Something...about being too young, or unfit, or the like."

"So you know about the council," Grovyle growled. "Impressive. Then I take it you know where we're going?"

"Yes. You're going to go through the Passage of Time beyond Dusk Forest."

None of what Perry said made any sense to Flame, but it must have to Grovyle. Slowly, to prevent himself from hitting his head on the slanted wall, Grovyle stood up and folded his arms. He was a towering presence now that they were near him. Flame had never met another grovyle, but from what he knew about them, they were a stage one Pokémon, having evolved once. One of Flame's sisters was a quilava, another stage one Pokémon, and she was a good deal shorter. To be taller than he was supposed to be...did that mean he was much older than them?

"I've never heard about either of you, not even from Celebi, but for you to have this much information..." Grovyle closed his eyes. "The validity of your story will be for Celebi to judge. The two of you are going to lead the way so I can make sure there's no funny business. Understood?"

Lucky nodded sombrely. His gaze locked onto Flame and he looked at him with an apologetic expression. Flame stared back at him for a moment, then blinked and nodded. As bizarre as it all was, and as annoying as Lucky could be, Flame couldn't bring himself to hate him for it, or even think less of him. The two boys were just kids.

_Although I have the weirdest sense of deja vu..._

"Good," Grovyle growled. "Then go on. We don't have much time if the sableye have been chasing us non-stop. We need to get to Celebi as soon as possible." He glanced back at Flame and Julia, who were walking out of the crevasse, the latter rubbing her head from hitting it earlier.

"Um, Grovyle," Flame began, "who's Celebi? And what's the planetary – "

"Didn't I just say we're short on time?" Grovyle shot him a glare that was almost accusatory and Flame ducked his head, mumbling a quiet 'sorry.'

Perry gave a sad smile to Lucky, who didn't return it and instead took off down the path running. The spearow sighed and followed, after whom Grovyle ran.

_Oh, no, we're doing this again? _The last time Flame and Julia had followed Lucky's ridiculous pace, he got cramps in every imaginable part of his body. It made the mad dash out of the stockade seem like a walk through town. Regardless, Flame rolled his eyes and hurried after them.

The side of the path that had been open to the seemingly endless black abyss became a rocky hillside, as did the other side. Ahead of them appeared a forest of sorts, but in the night, it looked dark and grey instead of lush and green. The trees appeared to be evergreens, and there were little strands of grass poking out between them, though, like everything else, they were frozen in time and did not move. Lucky and Perry stopped by the entrance to let the others take a break. But while they and Grovyle just stood and panted, Flame and Julia flopped onto the ground like limp magikarps and wheezed.

"Frickin'...hahh...hahh...slow...down...hahh..." Flame gasped out. Lucky grinned at him and stuck out his tongue.

"I had to slow down, like, five times!" he giggled. "And you guys were trailing about a whole kilometre behind!"

"Lies...hahh...we...were...right...hahh...behind you...gah..."

"Rest up quickly," Grovyle snapped at Flame and Julia, his eyes narrowing at the brothers. "The two of you are slowing us down quite a bit."

"Stop...rushing us..." Julia panted, sunk against the hard-packed dirt below like it was their soft straw bed at the guild. Flame wished it was. Better yet, he wished he was at the guild, safe in the bed with Julia, snuggling and toasty warm...

Shaking his head to clear the thought from his mind, he reluctantly pushed himself from the ground and stumbled over to Julia.

"We gotta go," he mumbled, extending a paw to her. She didn't take it. In fact, she showed no sign of even hearing him. "Hey! Are you awake? Get up!"

Julia turned her head away.

"We'll leave ya here!" Lucky warned teasingly. "Do you want to be left for the sableye? Mmm, tasty pikachu meat..."

Groaning, Julia lifted her head a little and took Flame's proffered paw. Either he or Julia used too much strength, because she was on her paws too suddenly and she fell over into Flame, knocking him over again. They stared at each other for a moment, then giggled and stood up together. It felt almost as if they really were at the guild and they were just goofing off on a mission or the like. If that Celebi person could help them, they soon would be back, and life would return to normal.

Flame glanced sheepishly at Perry and Lucky and found that both were looking at them with sullen expressions. He gave them a questioning glare and Lucky quickly waved a paw.

"Sorry!" he woofed. "I just don't like romance very much. It's _gross_."

"Are we going to stand around all day, waiting?" Grovyle snapped, crossing his arms. "I'm not here to babysit, you know."

"Oh, right," Julia said, laughing uneasily. "Let's go." She wore an odd expression on her face and she looked around at the forest before shaking her head and following Grovyle and the brothers in.

The forest, known as Dusk Forest because of the perpetual fog covering it, as Grovyle had explained, was almost devoid of life. Here and there, Flame would spot a mothim or mismagius, but these Pokémon seemed to fight amongst themselves rather than with the newcomers.

"So, Grovyle," Flame began, hoping his question wouldn't get brushed off this time, "who is Celebi?"

"She is an old and dear friend of mine," Grovyle replied. "She can lead us to the Passage of Time, which will take us back to the past. Because she had done so to take me to the past in the first place, she, too, is a threat in Dialga's eyes. However, she constantly reminds me about how she can never be caught." He paused for a moment. "She is a tad...odd. Quirky, you might say. But she is friendly enough. I doubt she will mind leading the four of you to it as well...or two, depending on how well-behaved Perry and Lucky are."

Lucky put on an expression of mock hurt and traced a hoop over his head then, after a moment's consideration, Perry's, too.

"Once we return to the past, though," Julia said, "are you going to steal the Time Gears again?"

Grovyle didn't hesitate in his reply. "Yes. I am."

"But I don't know if I trust you yet," said Flame warily. "I mean, even though what you said sounds plausible..."

"Three of us are telling you that that's what needs to be done," Perry chirped at him. "And even if you don't trust us, it's the truth. We have to alter the course of history. You don't want this everlasting darkness to be in your future, right?"

"Yeah, of course, but doesn't time stop when you remove a Time Gear?"

"Those effects are temporary," Grovyle said with an edge of frustration in his voice. "Once all five are placed in the Temporal Tower, time will flow smoothly across the planet."

"But if that's the case," Julia murmured, looking contemplative, "why are they all scattered across the place rather than just being in the tower?"

"That's..." Grovyle trailed off and frowned at her. "That's a good question. It's a question that has been asked before at the council, but we couldn't figure it out. Perhaps it's because of the guardians who protect them. The Treeshroud Forest Gear, admittedly, was not guarded, but the Limestone Cave one was by a ditto and the other three by the lake guardians, until Azelf died."

By now, the trees had thickened and it appeared that they were approaching the centre of the forest. The Pokémon were even scarcer, which Flame thought was both unsettling and a relief.

"We're getting close," Grovyle said, looking from side to side at the trees. "Celebi should be nearby."

"Grovyle...did you kill Azelf?"

Flame recoiled from the sharp look that Grovyle gave him, but the question had been eating away at him for too long. He thought that he knew exactly what Grovyle was going to say, but the answer surprised him.

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?!"

"During the battle," Grovyle began, "I was attacking quite frantically. I don't remember ever drawing blood from any of them, but it could have happened."

Lucky glanced over at Flame and shrugged. "It's been written into the history books that Grovyle killed him, but there was a skeptic who had another theory. They wrote that they saw Grovyle without blood on his claws before he was shoved into the dimensional hole, and thus, he couldn't have killed him. It's a big mystery."

Julia jolted to a halt. "Wait. Who wrote that?"

"Um, lemme think..." Lucky thought about it for a moment. "I think it was a villager who had seen Grovyle in the past. He was a corphish."

_Could it be...?!_

"How is that even possible?!" Julia exclaimed. "Before that happened, I told him that I saw that! Corphish is one of our friends! And you're saying he wrote that theory?!"

"When stuff happens in the past, it alters the future," Perry explained with a shrug. "So even though for you, it only happened a little while ago, we read that book before even coming to the past."

_That's weird!_ Flame thought, sharing Julia's surprise. _So Corphish went on to write that theory? Man, this is even more confusing than the fact that Perry and Lucky are from this time!_

All of a sudden, a green ball of energy shot out from nowhere and exploded on the ground beside Lucky. Lucky yelped in shock and leaped away from another energy ball.

"Hey! Watch it! You nearly hit me!" he yelled into the trees. Whatever was shooting at him shot again but hit Perry this time, sending the little bird flying backwards into a rock.

"Perry!" Julia called out as she and Flame ran over to him. Lucky beat them to him and cradled Perry in his arms with his head down to protect his brother. Flame stood in front of both and, as a result, was also shot by an attack. It hardly damaged him, however.

"It's a grass type move!" he called out to Grovyle. Grovyle's eyes widened and he walked over to stand in front of the four others.

"Celebi, is that you?"

The rhythm of the attacks halted, and, in a flash of light, a small, pink Pokémon appeared in the air, beating her wings quickly. Her black-ringed eyes were full of fury and she readied another Energy Ball.

"You two!" she yelled at Julia and Flame. "Get out of the way! I don't want to hit either of you!"

"Celebi, what are you doing?!" Grovyle demanded, taking a step back to shield them better. Perry mumbled an 'I'm fine' to his brother and the two stood up, warily taking defensive stances.

"My dear Grovyle," Celebi said through gritted teeth, "you haven't fallen for their lies, have you?"

"Lies?" Grovyle echoed, narrowing his eyes.

"We just want to go through the Passage of Time, Celebi!" Lucky called out. His voice cracked. "Please!"

Celebi glared at them and shot a barrage of leaves at them, making Lucky cry out.

"Stop it! Please!" Julia yelled fiercely. "What have they done to you?!"

The pixie-like Pokémon closed her eyes, then replied in a shaking voice, "Their goal is to go back into the past and destroy all the Time Gears!"

_What?! Destroy the Time Gears?! That's ludicrous! What is she talking about?_

"But you tried to kill us!" Lucky spurted out, stepping backwards and looking from Celebi to Grovyle to Julia to Flame. There was a pleading look in his eyes, but the fact that Lucky hadn't denied to wishing to destroy the Time Gears hit Flame like an Ancientpower attack. Perry was just silent, his eyes averted.

"Perry, Lucky..." Flame began. "You wouldn't...you're not...trying to destroy the Time Gears...are you?"

Lucky avoided his stare and looked at Celebi again. "Please, you have to let us through! Or we'll have to do it all again!"

"Do what all again?" Celebi spat. "Perhaps murder one of the members of the planetary council, hurt another, and lead the sableye to our location?!" She psychically raised all of the stones in the area and shot them at the brothers. Flame quickly leapt to the side to avoid getting hit and saw that Julia had done so, too. A chirp of pain could be heard and when Flame looked over, he could see Perry trembling on the ground, blood staining the dull grass beneath him red.

Celebi slowly approached them, readying another Magical Leaf attack. "I should've done this a long time ago instead of foolishly trusting the two of you." Lucky had picked up Perry again and took a step back, causing him to trip over one of the stones and fall over.

_She's going to kill them?!_ Flame realized in shock. _But...I knew them! Sure, they were annoying, but they don't deserve this!_

He quickly ran in front of them again, and Julia followed suit. "Don't do it, Celebi!" he cried out. "They're just kids!"

"Move aside!" Grovyle growled at them, walking over to stand beside Celebi. "If they are so deranged that they believe destroying the very things that keep time flowing will do any good at all, and if they truly betrayed the planetary council, they're too dangerous to keep alive."

_Not Grovyle, too, now!_

Lucky had stood up again wearily. Tears began to pool in his eyes but he blinked hard and wiped his face with the paw that wasn't holding his brother.

"Get out of here," Flame whispered. "Run!"

Lucky didn't hesitate to obey. He turned tail and hurriedly limped off into the forest. Celebi opened her mouth, then closed it after a moment. Even in the gloom of the woods, Flame could see the blood that was pooled on the ground where the brothers had been and the thin trail leading away. Julia must have been thinking the same thing.

"They're not going to...to bleed out and...die...are they?"

Celebi sighed heavily. "It is for the better," she spoke. "Had they befriended you two?"

Flame nodded slowly. It was too difficult to even try to process everything.

"I apologize. My attack must have seemed unfounded." She stared after the brothers for a few minutes longer, then turned and beckoned with an arm. "Come. We have delayed enough. That you are here again, Grovyle, tells me that you must have failed in your mission, yes? Then we must go to the Passage of Time at once."

"How far is it from here?" Grovyle asked.

Celebi replied, "Not far. Just up this way, on the plateau." She flew on ahead, Grovyle running after her.

"I...I don't believe this," Julia murmured to Flame. Neither she nor Flame had moved to follow Grovyle and Celebi yet. "They wouldn't have wanted to destroy the Gears. Not if they came from the future. And now they're going to..." She trailed off and clenched her fists. Flame glanced off into the woods where the brothers had vanished and felt a sharp pang of guilt.

"But if they did all that Celebi said they did...maybe this is for the better?"

Disbelief and shock flashed in Julia's eyes and her ears drooped in hurt. Before Flame could take it back, he heard Grovyle shout from up the path, "Hey! Are you two coming?"

Flame nudged Julia's shoulder. "We'd better get going. We need to get back to the past." After a moment's hesitation, Julia slowly nodded, then, with a final glance back, followed Flame towards the two grass type Pokémon.

* * *

The feeling Julia had gotten at the entrance to Dusk Forest had faded almost entirely, but how jarring it had been stuck in her head. Right before they entered, she had gotten the feeling that she had been there before. After thinking about it for a while, she managed to remember that she had gotten that same feeling at Foggy Forest, in the past.

_But I assumed it was part of the Dimensional Scream,_ she realized. _Is there a Time Gear here, too?_ However, she hadn't gotten the Dimensional Scream earlier when she touched the frozen water. Did her ability work differently here?

Grovyle had been explaining their situation with the sableye to Celebi that whole time. Julia felt herself getting frustrated. How could Celebi just ignore them after brutally attacking their friends and leaving them to die?!

"Hey, Celebi," she called out, and Celebi glanced back. "Could you tell us more about – "

"Of course," she interrupted quickly, lowering her eyes. "I owe that much to you. I do not want to be thought of as an evildoer to the two of you. As difficult as it may be to grasp, the so-called 'brothers' always had the deluded goal of destroying the Time Gears, nearly from the moment they joined the planetary council, which is a secret council at which we discuss and research the paralysis of the planet, and how to reverse it. They were violent, killing one of our members who disagreed with their ideals." She paused to take in a deep, shuddering breath. "Shortly after we released them from the council, Dusknoir's henchmen found our secret meeting place and ruthlessly murdered and captured many of the members. This was after decades of keeping the meeting place a well-kept secret."

Julia kept silent, staring at the ground. Beside her, Flame asked, "So, how'd they manage to go back in time before?"

"A few moons ago, the brothers found me and they claimed they had changed their thinking and wanted to assist in the stealing of the Time Gears. They had entirely fooled me." She smiled bitterly. "Once I realized this, I sent two of the other members of the planetary council after them. They were two pelippers."

_The...?! Are they the same two that...?!_ The gears clicked into place in Julia's mind and she couldn't help but gasp. _Now I get it! The pelippers...they actually were on our side this whole time! And they were after Lucky and Perry!_

"We met those guys!" Flame exclaimed, looking at Julia excitedly. "They helped us out a lot! That's why they were so concerned about the rumour of Azelf's Time Gear being sealed away!"

Celebi nodded back at them, then locked eyes with Julia. She stared at her, scrutinizing. Julia felt a little taken aback and she folded her ears back.

"Oh, do excuse me," Celebi said, giggling. "I thought I might have recognized you, but I must have been mistaken!"

"This is the first time I've visited the future," Julia joked uneasily. Celebi smiled at her and turned back to Grovyle. Now that Celebi had explained herself – with, admittedly, a strong and unsettling argument – she seemed much more cheerful. Radically different from the Pokémon who tried to kill Perry and Lucky.

_This is too much to take in at once! First, Perry and Lucky are from the future, and now they're the bad guys?! I'm not sure _what_ I believe anymore!_

"So, Grovyle, this might possibly be the last time I see you," Celebi told him, holding her arms behind her back. Grovyle shrugged indifferently.

"We're slowing down," he commented. "Remember, if the sableye catch us, I'll see you last tied up next to me on a pillar."

"Your sense of humour is tactless as always, I see."

Julia felt bad for listening in to their conversation, but it seemed interesting. Besides, the fact that Flame had said nothing to her yet meant that he was also listening to them.

"Oh, don't be like that," Celebi was saying, lightly punching Grovyle's arm. "You always act all depressing, but I know you're happy to see me again."

"Of course. You have been my closest friend."

Celebi sighed and nodded. "Yep. Friend." She looked up, moving a bit closer to him. "You're always in such a rush. Why can't you slow things down, once in a while?"

"You know perfectly well why. It would put our life's mission at stake." Celebi made a face and opened and closed her hand at his last sentence in imitation of a blabbing mouth. Julia covered her mouth discreetly with a paw to keep herself from laughing despite herself.

The trees had thinned by now and the four were nearing a flat, rocky area. It was surrounded by stone hills that seemed to stretch out for kilometres on all sides. Their sheer height made Julia feel very small and insignificant and, without realizing it, she reached out and grasped Flame's paw in her own. Not fifty metres from them was a glowing blue hole with yellow rings of energy forming a sort of pathway right in front of it.

"There it is," Celebi murmured. "Beautiful, isn't it? There used to be more spread across the continent, but they have been destroyed. This may very well be the last accessible one."

"Then let's go," Grovyle urged, taking a step forwards.

"Always the impatient one, aren't you?"

The deep voice echoed and bounced off the tall stone walls, and Grovyle whipped his head around, searching for the source. The owner of the voice floated up through the ground in front of them, and six sableye skittered out from behind scattered boulders to surround Grovyle, Celebi, and Flame and Julia.

"Dusknoir!" Flame exclaimed, taking a step back. Dusknoir laughed.

"It has been a while since I saw you all last," he said darkly. "I realized how much you all must have been missing me, so I dropped over to meet you all again. I do hope you don't mind."

Grovyle growled, deep in his throat. "So you were keeping an eye on us after all." His voice became quiet and Julia could faintly hear him murmur the names of the brothers.

_They can't be on Dusknoir's side! Even if they wanted to end the world, they wouldn't side with that villain!_

Grovyle continued, "You let the the four of us come here so you could catch Celebi as well, didn't you?"

"Honestly, Grovyle!" Celebi huffed, though not with as much playfulness as she had had before. "Do you not yet know that I cannot be caught? Dusknoir, if this was the best plan you had, I would expect your master to be ashamed of you!"

"We're going to power through them, got it?" Grovyle hissed back at Flame and Julia. "Run and don't stop until we reach – "

An earsplitting roar drowned him out and everyone looked up at the stone wall right above the Passage of Time. Two red eyes glowed in the gloom of the black, then yellow lines began to pulse. A dark blue, four-legged creature with an elongated neck and metallic accents gazed down upon the four with an expression of indescribable hatred. Then it tipped its head towards the sky and let out another roar.

"P-Primal Dialga..." Grovyle murmured, taking a small step back. "It...cannot be..."

"That _thing_ is Primal Dialga?!" Julia gaped at it. The beast was massive, at least ten times as tall as she. It swung a tapered tail back and forth slowly, like a pendulum, or a ticking clock counting away the seconds to their doom.

Grovyle shut his eyes tightly. "Had it just been Dusknoir, we could have stood a chance. But now that he's here..." He opened them again and, letting out a deep sigh, stepped towards Dusknoir. "I surrender. Do with me...as you will..."

_No way! This can't be the end!_

Dusknoir chuckled and floated over towards Grovyle, folding his arms. "My, my, how unlike you, Grovyle. Surely you can't be giving up yet?"

Grovyle averted his eyes but did not reply to the ghost Pokémon. He wore an expression of shame and hopelessness. Celebi clenched her fists tightly, indignation in her eyes.

"Grovyle, you can't mean this! We cannot give in now!"

"We have no choice," Grovyle breathed. "We can't win. This is it for us." His voice took on a hard edge. "But you haven't won yet, Dusknoir."

"Is that so?" Dusknoir drew nearer to him, his one eye gazing sharply into both of Grovyle's. "Do tell me why not."

Grovyle flinched away from Dusknoir but remained firmly on his feet. Julia fought the urge to rush in and shove Dusknoir away. He was making her feel sick, though she couldn't discern why.

"You should know," Grovyle said, a smirk escaping his stoic face. "I did not come to the past on my own. I was with my partner."

"You had a partner?!" Flame blurted out. "Is he still in the past, then?"

"She," Grovyle corrected. "Yes. Though we may have been separated, due to some difficulty in the Passage of Time, she is still there, and she will complete our mission in my place."

Dusknoir broke into a smile, then burst into laughter. Grovyle stared at him, finally taking a step away.

"What? What are you giggling at now?"

"Would you care to tell me the name of your partner?" Dusknoir chuckled, folding his arms again.

"Why do you care? Don't you already know?"

"Can you not say it?"

_Can you stop answering in questions?_

Grovyle narrowed his eyes. "No, that's not it. Her name is Julia."

A burst of cold ran up and down Julia's spine. She was frozen with her eyes wide and her mouth half open.

_There's no way... There's no conceivable way..._

Flame stared at Julia, his expression almost matching hers.

_Why didn't the subject of my name ever come up? When Flame was introducing us, Lucky interrupted him... Oh, no, he knew, didn't he?_

It didn't make sense. It couldn't. If it did, then that would mean that Julia was a criminal – or trying to save the future. And she knew that she could never be either. It simply wasn't possible.

"G-Grovyle," Flame stammered, "you've gotta be kidding..."

Grovyle looked back in confusion. Flame's voice was filled with horror like a lakebed with water.

"Julia's...right here!" Flame grabbed Julia's paw and stared into her eyes. Grovyle frowned, looking doubtful.

"That can't be." He looked from Dusknoir to Julia. "No. The Julia I knew was a human."

The silence that followed was as empty as a void. Grovyle's eyes widened, realizing what the silence meant. He took a slow, careful step towards the pikachu, disbelieving.

"What...what happened to you...Julia?"

Julia couldn't look at him. It couldn't be true. She didn't know him. There was no evidence. Not enough pointed to this being the truth. Sure, she knew that he wasn't a bad Pokémon at Fogbound Lake, and sure, Lucky told Grovyle that he had something of his when they met, and sure, Julia knew from the bottom of her heart that she had been to Dusk Forest before, but...but...

But...

Dusknoir chuckled and floated over to Grovyle's side. "Strange, isn't it? I had no idea about her until I learned, in the past, that she possessed the Dimensional Scream ability. Then, she and Flame told me about how she had amnesia, knowing only her name and that she had once been a human."

_He had smiled when I told him...but there must be a mistake..._

"How convenient for me, eh, Grovyle? She couldn't remember me at all! And nor could she remember you!"

Grovyle stared at Julia, shaking his head. His eyes narrowed in fury and he whirled at Dusknoir, striking out with his claws. Dusknoir simply floated backwards out of reach while two sableye rushed to their master's side protectively.

"How could you?!" Grovyle spat. "You bastard..."

"It was not my doing, but it was quite fortunate that it happened. Now I have all of you..." He glanced past Celebi and Julia at Flame. "...as well as you, young Flame. What a shame that you did not realize that you were assisting a criminal."

"Julia's not a criminal!" Flame yelled, standing in front of her. "She's my – my mate, and I'm not going to let you hurt her!"

At any other time, the fact that Flame had finally said it, that they were mates, would have caused Julia to flush red. But now, now that they were looking death in the eye, it sounded like false comfort, a false promise.

After all, this was it.

"Sableye, seize them at once," Dusknoir commanded, a triumphant tone in his voice. "If they resist, kill them."

The two sableye by Dusknoir's side quickly charged Grovyle and grabbed him by either arm. After a split second, Grovyle began thrashing and trying to rid himself of the two, but he suddenly cried out and dropped to a knee. The scent of fresh blood hit Julia's nose and she saw, in horror, that the sableye had tore up his arms with their claws.

"Grovyle!" Celebi shrieked as a sableye dashed in and grabbed her by an arm as well. The other three did the same with Flame and Julia.

_So much for Celebi being un-catchable._

But Celebi was far from finished. She looked Julia and Flame in the eyes and hissed, "I'm going to speed up time in a straight path from us to the Passage of Time. I can only do it for so long, and Primal Dialga can stop me at any second. I'll grab Grovyle; you two, run, got it?"

Flame and Julia nodded hurriedly. Celebi gave them a small, sad smile, then began to glow. The glow expanded and everything outside of a path leading right to the Passage of Time went grey. The sableye suddenly halted in their actions, allowing the three to wrench themselves from their grips, and Dusknoir became frozen in mid-shout. The only one who hadn't stopped moving was Primal Dialga, his tail thrashing furiously.

Flame and Julia ran.

The Passage of Time, like Primal Dialga, kept fluttering and moving slightly. Julia could hear the air rushing past her ears and finally felt the bite of cold on her fur. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Celebi grasp Grovyle by the arm and him stumbling after her.

Above them, Primal Dialga roared, glaring down. Several long, metallic fins on his back began radiating silvery light and spreading apart.

"He's about to use his Roar of Time attack!" Celebi cried out. "We don't have much longer!" The fur on Julia's neck rose and she tried to force her legs to move faster. The Passage was so close – !

Not more than ten metres away from it, the brief burst of quickened time was shattered with an earsplitting roar and Julia could suddenly hear Dusknoir yelling at them or the sableye, or Primal Dialga. Everything felt like a jumbled mess.

"Keep going!" Celebi yelled at them. Grovyle had snatched his arm away from Celebi's hold and he closed the gap between himself and the Passage. Before he went in, he glanced back and nodded to the pink Pokémon, who just smiled sadly again at him.

"But what about you?" Flame called out. Celebi stared, then broke into a grin.

"Haven't I told you I can't be caught? Now, get the hell out of here!"

The last thing Julia saw before Flame pulled her into the Passage was all six sableye lunging towards the spot where Celebi used to be.

* * *

"It's over."

Lucky shook his head at his brother with a grin. "Don't be such a pessississimist, Perry!" he scolded, continuing to wipe away the crusted blood from Perry's chest with a leaf. The spearow turned his head away.

"Don't be an idiot. We saw those sableye running through the woods. They're either all dead, or they made it to the past and closed the Passage behind them. Face it – we're not getting back to the past."

"We'll find a way." Lucky stood up and picked up Perry to set him on his shoulder. "Take it easy, 'kay? And don't start bleeding again. If you bleed all over me, it'll be gross."

"Grosser than romance?"

Sticking his tongue out, Lucky retorted, "I'm, like, a romance expert. Anyways..." He grinned determinedly. "I know where to find another Passage of Time. It's kinda far away, but it'll be worth it."

Perry frowned and sighed. "I think I know the one you're talking about. Arceus, I _hate_ that one. Guess it can't be helped. Let's hope the porygons aren't in a cranky mood today."

Silently, Lucky dashed off into the dark undergrowth and disappeared into the shadows.


	37. Chapter 37

**Even though this chapter is late in coming, I'm consoled by the fact that I uploaded a new chapter before Multikirby could. Take THAT, Mr. Chapter-a-Day!**

**As always, folks, read, review, and enjoy! **

* * *

"Fire-Butt!" Flame screeched, feeling her heart pounding in her throat. "Fire-Butt, do you hear me?! Don't you fucking die on us, you bastard!"

Tears were pooling in the corners of her eyes when he moved, curling his head in, letting out a stifled moan of pain. She could hear Julia fumbling around with her bag behind her, then a jagged ray of red light surrounded the ponyta, causing him to vanish into his Poké Ball. However, the dark pool of blood below remained.

Flame let out a choked whimper, her entire body shaking. "Oh gods, how did – " She knew that he wasn't that clumsy that he'd waltz right into a gaping hole, but with the commotion of Julia fainting, he could have tripped, or a floorboard beneath his hooves could have snapped. It didn't matter how it happened. He'd nearly died.

"He should be alright in his Poké Ball," Giovanni was saying, "but you had better bring him to a Pokémon Centre immediately. I hope to see you again sometime."

Julia looked as though she wanted to protest, but she instead turned away and ran out of the Burned Tower. Jordan and McMister followed close behind, and Fluffy and Flame dashed after them a few paces behind.

Flame shot a quick glance at Fluffy, and noticed that the sheep Pokémon had tears dribbling down her face, though her face held a determined blank expression.

"He – he'll be fine," Flame told her, trying to keep her voice sounding firm. Fluffy didn't look at her and instead shook her head, more tears escaping from her eyes.

By the time the two reached the Pokémon Centre, Julia was already frantically yelling at the nurse while the nurse smiled at her patiently, trying to explain something to her. Flame dropped herself down in one of the beanbag chairs by the door but Fluffy remained standing, her eyes on Julia. Her body was shaking with sobs.

It didn't take long for Julia to walk over to them and sink into a chair as well. Jordan was tossing Sir Majestic Tail's Poké Ball in one hand casually.

" – not like humans or wild Pokémon," he was saying to Julia. "You only need to put the Poké Ball at the charging station, and – "

"I get it!" Julia snapped. She caught the Poké Ball when Jordan tossed in to her and tapped the centre button. Out emerged Sir Majestic Tail, looking as perky and unharmed as ever. Well, perhaps a bit less perky and more horrified.

"Th-th-that was simply awful!" he exclaimed, stamping his hooves on the ground. "Why could I not have been born a meowth? Don't meowths always land on their paws? Argh! My bones won't cease to tingle!"

_He's good as new_, Flame thought as she let out a relieved sigh. _Human technology is scary._

"You idiot!" Fluffy laughed, crossing her arms. "How'd you manage to dump yourself into that hole? Ain't you the graceful little twinkle-toes!"

Flame couldn't help but stare at her. Why was she suddenly being rude again? Had Flame imagined her crying? No, she could still see the dried traces of her tears against her fur.

_She's relieved, too. And probably a bit too proud to admit that she was crying waterfalls._

Sir Majestic Tail, however, must not have noticed her red eyes or dried tears and he glared at her. "Yes, quite," he snorted. "You could at least express a smidgen of concern, Fluffy."

Grinning, Fluffy tossed her mane of fluff and replied, "Concern? For you? Go back to sleep and dream some more, Fire-Butt!"

He recoiled, hurt evident in his eyes. "That's...I..." He lowered his head, then looked back at Julia. "No matter, anyways. I, of course, am completely fine now, so how are you? You blacked right out, and I was unable to ask you how you felt before I was – before I fell."

Julia shrugged. "I'm fine. I didn't get hurt or anything. A little bit of dizziness has never killed me before."

"Hey, was Flame telling the truth?" Jordan demanded out of the blue. "Do you really faint a lot now? You never used to before! Do you have epilepsy or something?"

"No, I'm okay! Really!" Julia held up her hands defensively. "I don't get it very often at all! And, uh, please don't tell mom. She'll totally flip out if she finds out! Then I really won't be allowed to go anywhere without you!"

Jordan held his glare until it turned into a pout, then a smirk. He ruffled her hair playfully and said, "Don'tcha worry! If you say you're fine, there's no need for me to tell her. Besides, you've got your Pokémon with you. I'm sure they'll keep you safe!"

In less than an hour, they were all seated around a circular table at some fancy oriental restaurant, save for Sir Majestic Tail, who still refused to extinguish his flames so he could sit.

"After all," he'd argued stubbornly, "if I am without my exquisite tail for even a single meal, my name becomes pointless! No, I would much prefer to stand than to stand for that happening!"

A petite girl dressed in a flowery kimono approached the table after they had ordered. She looked like one of the dancers, who had been dancing on a stage at the other end of the restaurant. In fact, Flame realized, she was one of the dancers. The other four continued to dance, but they watched out of the corners of their eyes.

"I noticed that you are keeping your Pokémon out of their Balls," she observed, her voice high-pitched and sweet like honey. "We like to battle trainers before their meals arrive and, seeing as you've only just ordered, I have decided to challenge you." Her eyes flicked from Julia to Jordan. Jordan grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"I've been here before," he said with a chuckle. "These girls aren't that powerful." He looked the kimono girl right in the eyes, his smile unfaltering. "Jules, why don't you take her on? You'll have to battle all five of them, but they're a snap."

Flame narrowed her eyes at him. Despite the rude comment he had made about their strength, the girl did not appear to be offended. In fact, her own small smile had grown a little.

"Alright, why not?" Julia muttered. She got out of her chair and glanced at Flame. "Ready for some battling?"

Flame nodded, hopping off her chair and glancing at the girl again. She was pulling out a green-lidded Poké Ball from under her sash; the green colour was to make it look prettier, Flame supposed.

"Now," the girl said, "let us see who is truly the more powerful." She pressed the centre button and out emerged an espeon with a pink ribbon tied around its tail. Flame eyed it; it was impossible to tell its power from its appearance alone.

"Alright, Flame," Julia began, "use Flame Wheel."

Flame charged at it and curled up, surrounding herself in the flames from her head and rump in a Flame Wheel attack. A command was given to the espeon and Flame's target was suddenly not where she was rolling.

"Behind you!" Julia called out, but her warning came too late. Flame was suddenly pelted with many tiny shards of energy, throwing her off course and sending her toppling.

_Shit! Was that attack _only_ a Swift?!_

Flame got to her hind legs, fixing her gaze on the espeon. It stood a few metres away from her, its tail waving back and forth gently, like a willow in a gentle breeze. This wasn't going to be an easy battle, Flame realized.

Not letting herself get discouraged, she started up another Flame Wheel and turned sharply when the espeon had vanished from its spot. She felt the satisfying smash of the collision and stood to see espeon on the ground.

"Get it while it's dazed!" Julia commanded, her voice full of energy. Flame blasted it with the full force of her Lava Plume and espeon's head dropped. The kimono girl returned it to its Poké Ball and smiled at Julia.

"Very good, trainer," she complimented. "Now, Sayo will battle you." She stepped away, to be replaced with a nearly identical kimono-clad girl. Flame groaned inwardly.

_Another battle, so soon?_

"What gives, Jordan?" snapped Julia frustratedly. "You said they weren't tough!"

Throwing back his head to laugh, Jordan replied, "Dude, these chicks totally creamed me when I came here! Have fun, Julesy!"

Before Julia could yell at him again, Sayo released a jolteon. "Jolteon, use Thunderbolt," she told it. Jolteon dashed at Flame too quickly for her eyes to follow and shot a bolt of thunder at her from close range. Grimacing, Flame braced herself against the attack, grateful for her thick, shock-resistant skin. She rammed forwards through the Thunderbolt, fires ignited, and tackled it to the ground, biting and kicking furiously. Jolteon continuously rammed her with electricity, and it was beginning to really hurt Flame. She blasted Lava Plume at Jolteon, still holding it tightly against herself, and pummelled it with fire.

It didn't take long for it to be too much for Jolteon, and the Pokémon went limp against her. Flame shoved it off and limped backwards, not caring that she was on all fours. She felt jittery and sore from the constant electric shocks, and when yet another kimono girl came in to replace Sayo, she began to feel tempted to pretend to faint just to get out of battling again. This girl released an umbreon, and the determined, energized look on its face sent chills down Flame's back.

Julia commanded her to use Lava Plume, but the attack came too slowly and the umbreon dodged it easily and shot a ball of ghostly energy at her. Flame stumbled sideways and dropped to the ground, heaving.

"Don't give up, Flame!" Julia yelled, her wide eyes pleading. Flame whimpered and stood back up, feeling unsteady even on all fours. Couldn't Julia use a potion or something?

"Umbreon, Dark Pulse," the kimono girl called out calmly. Umbreon stood tall and began radiating dark energy. Flame gritted her teeth and mustered up the power to shoot embers into its eyes. Crying out in pain, umbreon halted its attack to rub at its eyes. Flame used the opportunity to ignite her flames and ram it with Flame Wheel. When it paused after standing back up, Flame blasted it with the most powerful Lava Plume she could muster. Finally, the umbreon collapsed and didn't get up.

The kimono girl calmly recalled umbreon and stepped away. Was that it?

_No, there's two more_, Flame remembered, whimpering. _I can't handle this! Not two more!_

Another girl came forwards and said sweetly, "My name is Kuni. May I have this battle?"

"Flame will be unable to last for much longer," Sir Majestic Tail warned Julia, glancing at her bag. "You had better use a healing item."

Julia nodded and began to move towards her bag, which was slung on the back of her chair, but the vaporeon Kuni sent out charged at Flame right away in a quick attack. Flame was hardly able to dodge, her paws feeling like rocks, but something had changed. Though she still was exhausted, adrenaline pumped through her veins, as well as something else. A feeling of pent-up energy from deep within was slowly seeping through her body outwards.

Flame didn't have time to think, so she let her instincts take over. She shot a plume of lava at Vaporeon, and when the Pokémon shook it off like a loose leaf that had landed on its back, she tried using Swift. The attack was clumsy, but the many tiny stars of energy chased Vaporeon when it tried to dodge.

_Maybe I can still win this!_ Flame thought, the conflicting forces of exhaustion and excitement clashing in her mind. Vaporeon turned to her, its eyes narrowing, then suddenly shot a blast of raging water at Flame. Flame had no chance to react and the wave crashed into her. Her mind shut off and her vision went dark.

* * *

"Go, Flame!"

The next thing Flame knew, she was standing in front of a flareon. She only felt a little bit tired.

_What just happened? I fainted, and then..._

She glanced at her team and noticed that Fluffy's fuzz around her neck was wet.

_Oh. I fainted, then she must have fought the vaporeon, and I was revived..._

The flareon was much easier to defeat. Though it was able to absorb Flame's fire type attacks, she took it down easily with some Swift attacks.

The kimono girl returned her Pokémon to its Ball once it had fainted, then bowed respectfully. "Thank you for this battle," she said, her eyes narrowed as she rose again. "I hope that someday soon, we may battle again." With that, she turned and returned to the stage to neatly fall into place in the dance.

_That's it?_ Although the battles had been difficult, Flame was left with an odd sensation of incompletion. Something hadn't been finished. Was it that vaporeon that she couldn't defeat? _That's probably it_, she thought to herself. _But still..._

Jordan gave a low whistle. "Nice job, Jules." His voice lacked its normal enthusiasm.

"What, was that not entertaining enough for you?" Julia asked crossly, plopping herself back down in her chair. Apparently, she'd noticed as well. "Did you want to see me lose?"

"Oh, we both know that," Jordan said teasingly. "Naw, it's just, well, uh..." He glanced out at the dancers and crossed his arms. "I swore they were tougher last time. Seriously, like, that was nothing. McMister's way more powerful than Flame, and he got swamped."

_Thanks for the compliment, dick._

"Maybe it's 'cause you guys suck balls," Fluffy suggested to Jordan sweetly, reaching out and tipping over his glass of water.

Something, Flame realized instantly, was wrong with that picture.

"Hey!" Julia snapped at her. "There's no need to be like that! Where the heck did that rudeness come from?!"

Shrugging casually, Fluffy leaned over towards Flame to drape her arm around the quilava's back. "Your precious little Flame was insulted, wasn't she? I'm just returning the favour."

Flame shoved Fluffy off, her eyes wide and confused. "It wasn't that bad. You didn't have to knock over his cup like that!"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Jordan laughed, already wiping up the spilled water with a napkin. "I didn't realize what I was saying sounded rude 'til it came outta my mouth. Sorry if I hurt your feelings."

Fluffy glared at him and said, "You really oughtta watch your mouth, Jordan. Saying the wrong thing could get you hurt."

It felt as if the temperature had dropped by twenty degrees. Fluffy's message slowly sunk in to everyone's minds and they carefully unravelled its meaning in their heads while she leaned back in her chair as if she'd suggested nothing more than a trip to the park. Conveniently, a couple of well-dressed waitresses slid over and set down their meals to distract them, and they all dug in immediately.

The weight of the silence pressed heavily on Flame as she fumbled with the chopsticks, before giving up and just eating her noodles with her paws. Fluffy had been acting oddly that whole day. It was beginning to bother Flame. Something about the way Fluffy was being rude rubbed Flame's fur the wrong way, and felt faintly familiar. A feeling of dread accompanied the familiarity of the situation.

A warm orange colour had bled into the clouds when the group exited the restaurant. Sir Majestic Tail was attempting and failing to chat with Fluffy in a romantic way about how beautiful sunsets were, resulting in one ponyta being lightly fried by a Thunderbolt attack. Just as they were about to enter the Pokémon Centre, Sir Majestic Tail halted and looked over at Julia.

"Ahem, my lady," he began, "would you mind horribly much if I spoke with Fluffy for a moment? Alone?"

Giving him a slightly quizzical look, Julia shrugged and replied, "Yeah, sure. Just come in soon, okay?"

Flame glared at them as they vanished behind the Pokémon Centre, but she reluctantly followed the others in.

* * *

"That dinner was pretty great, wasn't it?" Fluffy commented absently, keeping her eyes away from Sir Majestic Tail. He studied her blank face before replying, "Yes, quite."

A pair of kids ran past, trailing small kites behind them and laughing as the strings became tangled together. Sir Majestic Tail wished he could be among them, running freely without any troubles or cares. But that life was beyond him. It was gone now.

"Fluffy...why did you push me in?"

There was another moment of silence before Fluffy's voice came out as a choked whisper. "I _did_ do that, didn't I?"

"What do you mean by that?" Sir Majestic Tail asked, stepping one leg closer towards her. The flaaffy's eyes were half-closed and she had a defeated expression.

"I knew it," she whimpered. "I knew something would happen, before we even went in." It was unsettling to see her like this. She truly did not look herself. "Something's wrong with me. I don't know why, but for brief flashes, I just feel...I feel like I want to _destroy_ something." The word 'destroy' came out as a snarl but she immediately went back to her quiet state.

Sir Majestic Tail hesitated, uncertain of how to reply. "Fluffykins, could it be mind control, do you think? Whoever is the head of Team Fury could perhaps be controlling its members psychically."

"I dunno. Maybe. But you're technically a member, too. Why would I be forced to shove you into a hole?"

"Well, erm..." The ponyta looked up in thought, then suggested, "Perhaps I am too smart to be kept alive?"

The joke didn't even make the corners of Fluffy's mouth rise. "What if I'm just going crazy? I'm probably going to end up killing someone."

"Don't say such things!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed with such fury that his tail's flames sputtered. "You are neither crazy nor a killer!" He lifted her chin up with a foreleg so their eyes met. "Say that again and I'll set your collar on fire!"

He continued to glare into her eyes and realized with a start that hers had become large and watery.

"S-Sir Majestic Tail," she began, but was cut off.

"And please, Fluffykins..." Sir Majestic Tail lowered his voice and gave her a pleading look. "...please don't call me that. I prefer 'Fire-Butt' from you."

Tears overflowed Fluffy's eyes, but she broke into a grin. "Fire-Butt, you idiot!" she bleated, throwing her paws around his neck and hugging him tightly. Sir Majestic Tail's face went red and heat surged through his body. He tried to raise a foreleg to hug her back, but the position of his leg felt awkward for him so he set it down again.

Fluffy pulled away and gave him a determined grin. "You're right, you big dumb horse. I'm pretty sure we're the only two sane people in our group, so I can't be narrowing it down any further. If you were the only straight-thinking person here, that would be a tragedy of our time."

Sir Majestic Tail wasn't sure if he should feel flattered or offended by that, but that Fluffy had regained her senses was such a relief that he didn't care. "Then what are we to do about your condition?"

"Now that I think about it," said Fluffy, "there's a very good chance that whatever's wrong with me had something to do with Flame and Julia. Like, I've had headaches before I was captured, and now...they've stopped."

"That hardly seems like compelling evidence."

Fluffy seemed to disagree with him, because he suddenly found himself being electrocuted.

_I actually seem to be getting used to this, _he thought amusedly_. That doesn't stop getting me from feeling horribly in pain by being shocked, however!_

"Why don'tcha let me finish my thought first, dungball! Seriously, though, you've seen how weird stuff's happening with them, right? I mean, that sunflora I met in Ilex, she seemed to know them, and she wanted to talk with them. And you heard that outburst this morning, right?"

Sir Majestic Tail nodded. "That was still this morning? This certainly has been a long day. Speaking of which, should we not get to bed fairly soon?"

"Yeah, yeah," Fluffy sighed. "But Fire-Butt, I mean it. For my sake, can you please just...keep an eye on 'em, or something? And other weird happenings?"

"As you wish, Fluffykins!" Sir Majestic Tail paused to steel himself, then shoved his face towards her and nuzzled her cheek. As he pulled away, he felt the light crackle of static electricity shock his muzzle. Before she had a chance to react, he dashed around to the front of the Pokémon Centre and rushed through the automatic doors.

_There. I've done it._ He took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. _Well, perhaps I didn't quite confess my feelings to her, but that was close enough!_

With that thought firmly in Sir Majestic Tail's mind, he looked around the lobby for his trainer. Julia was leaning against a wall, looking at some speck on the ceiling while Jordan rambled on about sightings of an oddly coloured celebi around Ilex Forest. Flame, on the other hand, was crouching by the door and had her eyes on the ponyta the moment he stepped in.

"So?" she asked expectantly. "What was all that about?"

In a hurried voice, Sir Majestic Tail quietly replied, "I nuzzled Fluffy."

Flame's eyes widened a bit and her accusatory expression turned into a smug one. "You mean, romantically? Hey, I didn't think you had it in you. Good job, Fire-Butt!"

At that moment, Fluffy sauntered in and, noticing Flame's smirk, tapped Sir Majestic Tail's nose as she walked by. Flame snickered at Sir Majestic Tail, who had started to blush again.

"This is not a laughing matter, Flame!" he insisted hotly, but even he found it all rather silly.

_I've fallen in love with the most impolite Pokémon I know!_

"Excuse me, you two. Would you mind stepping aside?"

The masculine and slightly familiar voice came from behind Sir Majestic Tail and he quickly hopped to the side, then glanced at the newcomer.

"Thank you," said the man, and he stepped past them, heading towards Julia and Jordan.

"Isn't this the guy from Burned Tower?!" Flame hissed at Sir Majestic Tail. The ponyta nodded, feeling his flames rise a little in apprehension. Hadn't this man caused Julia to have another episode? Exchanging a nervous look with Flame, the two trailed him over to the rest of the group.

"Good evening...Julia, wasn't it?" Giovanni greeted, keeping his right hand in his pocket this time. Julia blinked at him in apparent surprise, then smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah. Good to see you again, mister."

"I see your ponyta has recovered?"

Julia nodded, hooking her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts. "Yeah. Thanks for your concern."

Though Sir Majestic Tail, too, was wary of Giovanni, Julia's behaviour was rubbing his fur the wrong way. She was acting downright rude! What, did he have blood on his hands or something? Did she think he was somehow responsible for Sir Majestic Tail's near-death? The thought that his trainer was defending him was tempting, but she had gotten one of those odd visions. Surely there had to be something more?

"I apologize for sending you away so quickly earlier," Giovanni went on, his voice tight. He also must have sensed Julia's slight hostility. "But I had seen that you were very concerned – "

"Sorry for interrupting," Julia interrupted abruptly, "but do you know a guy named Noah?"

Flame tensed beside Sir Majestic tail, her ears folded back and her eyes narrowing.

"Pardon?"

Julia began rummaging through her bag and pulled out a small, slightly creased piece of laminated paper, then handed it over to Giovanni. "This guy. This is Noah's trainer card. Do you know him?"

Giovanni didn't reply right away. His eyes were fixated on the card, Sir Majestic Tail noted as he walked around to stand beside Julia, and his hand trembled; it was a hardly noticeable tremble, but Julia seemed to see it.

"Are you alright, Mr. Giovanni?" she inquired. Giovanni's eyes snapped up to her face at the sound of her voice.

"Where did you find this?"

"Uh..." Julia took a small step back. "Right outside the entrance to Ilex Forest, I think – "

"When? When did you last see him?" Giovanni was leaning forwards now and had raised his voice so that he was almost yelling. Some of the other trainers lounging around in the lobby glanced over.

"That was," she stammered, "uh, a while ago, like, before Ilex Forest..."

"Turned into a mystery dungeon," Giovanni finished for her in a growl.

Julia looked horribly pale at this point and slightly terrified, so Jordan stepped up beside her to lean on her shoulder and asked, "How'd you know that's what they're called?"

Giovanni straightened up again and cleared his throat. Despite Giovanni's air of intimidation and power, Sir Majestic Tail found himself admiring the man. He acted like a proper gentleman even when he was riled up.

"I had recently spent some time in Hoenn," he explained, "and that is the term the locals use to describe the phenomenon."

"If you will," Sir Majestic Tail interjected, "what do you mean by that? Are you saying they exist in Hoenn already?!"

Giovanni looked at their bewildered faces with an expression of confusion. "You were unaware? It may not be in current news, but that is where the first recorded mystery dungeon appeared, a few years ago. With the current outbreak in Johto and Kanto...I do believe that at this point, their existences are being censored by government officials." He sighed. "I suppose you wouldn't know. My apologies."

Julia just shook her head, crossing her arms. "I – would you mind if I left for a moment? I need to call someone. Right now. I'm sorry." Without waiting for a response, she dashed off down a hallway, Flame in hot pursuit. Giovanni watched her until she vanished behind a wall, then shook his head and faced Jordan.

"Do you think she would mind if I kept this?" he asked, holding up the trainer card.

"I don't think she'd mind too much!" Jordan replied with false cheeriness. "Why d'you want it, though?"

Giovanni turned his head to the side. "Noah is my son. He ran away a few months ago and I haven't seen him since."

_After what I had heard about Noah, I would have expected his parents to be absolute monsters! _Sir Majestic Tail thought in bewilderment. _But this man is nothing like him!_

"Hey, really?" Jordan blinked a few times, looking disbelieving. "Well, if that's the case, good luck finding him."

Giovanni gave him a curt nod. "Thank you. I will leave you with my number." He pulled a black business card from his blazer pocket and handed it to Jordan. "If you gain any information about his whereabouts, please give me a call." With a tight-lipped smile, he turned on his heel and walked out of the Pokémon Centre.

Sir Majestic Tail was left with an uneasy feeling. He wasn't certain if Fluffy's headaches were really the biggest issue here – he had experienced first-hoof how dangerous mystery dungeons were, and the thought that some had already existed for some time was far from comforting.

"Fluffy-kins," Sir Majestic Tail began in a soft whinny, "do you think perhaps these dungeons are what are causing people to become more...restless?"

She nodded grimly, her eyes narrowed. "I don't like this at all. I'm guessing this is what Julia left for – she's probably telling Leo all about it right now."

They were interrupted by Jordan clapping his hands together. "Now that that's over with, why don't we go see what Jules is up to? And maybe bother her while we're at it?"

That earned a smirk from Fluffy. "I'm down for that! Let's get her good!"

* * *

"So they've already existed in Hoenn for some time."

"Yeah, that's right. You could add that, or maybe try to find some more information online or something."

"Maybe."

"Leo...are you okay?"

It was a funny question to come from Julia. They had already been talking for a few minutes, and Leo had withheld his enthusiasm for every little thing Julia had told him. She should have known, without having to ask, that he most certainly was not okay. Rather than being comforting, her question angered Leo. She didn't have to pretend to care about him.

"I'm fine," he replied. He was staring through the screen of his Pokégear rather than actually looking at her.

"If you say so," Julia said uneasily. "How's your mom doing?"

_Go on ahead, change the subject,_ Leo thought, trying to focus on her image. _If I say I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't press the question any further._

"She's doing well," he lied. "She's getting better."

"That's good to hear!"

_Humans aren't Pokémon. They can't be taken to some lady with pink hair and fully healed in a few seconds. We don't work like that._

Julia suddenly lit up like a lightbulb as her flaaffy, somewhere off-screen, shocked her with a bolt of electricity. The girl hardly even yelped in surprise and scolded Fluffy lightly for her action. For her, it was like getting shot by a water gun.

_Someone with a type can just brush off an attack. They wouldn't understand that a normal type human fears for their life every time they go into battle._

"I have to go," Leo told Julia hollowly.

"Alright, then! Talk to you later?"

"Sure."

Leo watched his screen go black as Julia disconnected. He stared at the device for a moment, then hurled it at the wall. It clattered to the ground in two pieces.

She cared too much about those stupid mystery dungeons. She wasn't curious about any other current happenings. That news story that had been playing all day, about the crisis in Blackthorne City, probably didn't even worry her. Did she even know about what had happened?

The TV in Leo's hotel room was on, a pale glow in the shadows of the room. It was still playing the story, repeating it over and over like a broken record. The helicopter panned over the sea of bodies, zooming in on the charred remains of the houses. A calm-voiced woman talked over the footage, about when in the afternoon Team Fury had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and for how long the massacre went on. She likened it to the occurrence in Goldenrod and said how many times worse this slaughter was. Claire, the gym leader of Blackthorne, came on to discuss how Team Fury had asked her to join them in their crusade to end the lives of every normal type, Pokémon and human alike. Then new footage was shown of small crowds of people across Johto and Kanto, many wearing masks and holding signs reading, 'Remove normal' and, 'Save our children – sacrifice the normal types.' The reporter added in a voice tinged with distress about the rates of general violence going up.

_When did this all start? Why isn't anyone trying to stop Team Fury?_ Leo walked over to the TV, dropped to his knees, and pressed the power button. _How long will it be until the doctors decide to just pull the plug on mom? Or until our neighbours come to burn down our house?_

His dad and sister had been gone for the past few hours, to sit with Leo's mom and keep her company. She probably wouldn't be awake, and maybe she never would be again.

_Why us? Why me? What did I do wrong?_

Leo walked over to the window and opened it all the way. People below were like little flabébés fluttering about. Four storeys separated Leo from them.

He pulled himself up onto the sill and peered down. Wind rushed past his cheeks and he closed his eyes. If he were to lose his balance here and he fell, what would it feel like to hit the ground? Would it feel like a seismic wave travelling through his body? Would it be a sharp, sudden pain? Would it be painless, only to hurt horribly later? Or would it kill him? That was what Team Fury wanted anyways, wasn't it? It would do no good to stay alive, anyways. The government would shut down his site sooner or later, if they hadn't already done it. His mom was probably going to die, too, not that Dorothea or his dad would miss him. Julia certainly wouldn't.

Leo leaned out further, putting his hands on the outside of the window pane. Nobody below saw him. They would only see the blur go by, or hear the splat as he landed. He smiled bitterly. Splat. If he jumped, he would go splat. He'd be like a comedian, or a cartoon character. Maybe he'd even get some sort of prize for it. 'Funniest Dead Guy of the Year Award.' Ha, ha.

Then Leo heard the door open behind him and his dad walk in. "Leo, we're – LEO!"

The next thing he knew, a pair of strong arms grabbed him around his waist and roughly dragged him off the windowsill. Dorothea was yelling something at him as she slammed the window shut, but she had started crying and shaking violently.

"Leo, Leo, what were you doing?!" his dad demanded, turning Leo around to face him. Leo stared at him for a moment, uncomprehending. "Were you trying to kill yourself?! Leo, what the hell were you thinking?!"

_I was about to commit suicide._ The thought slowly sank in like some sort of thick blanket over his mind. _I wanted to die._

"I..." Leo began, but something rose up in his throat, choking him and stopping the words from coming out. His eyes suddenly filled up with tears and he began to wail like a small child. His father's protective arms pulled his close against his chest. Leo grabbed the front of his dad's shirt, balling up his hands into tight fists and screaming into the fabric. Dorothea's hands were on his shoulders, squeezing gently.

"It's okay, Leo," his dad's voice breathed into his ear. "You're safe. I'm here. It's okay."

_What was I thinking?! What's wrong with me?! _Leo clenched his fists tighter, but his cries became quieter. _I'm not crazy. Why would I even think of that? _He gritted his teeth, suddenly feeling a wave of determination course through him. _I have to find out. I'm going to find out what's wrong with me. With everyone. No matter what._

* * *

"He's out? Why?"

Julia had headed out the next afternoon to Ecruteak City's Pokémon gym with her team, only to be greeted by a solitary channeller at the door, who was telling challengers that Morty, the gym leader, was absent.

"Are you kidding me?" snapped a very tan boy with dark red hair amidst the small group of trainers. "I didn't come all the way out here just to be sent off like this!"

The old channeller gave him a stern look. "In case you weren't aware, there's a bit of a situation up in Blackthorne. He went off to assist up there and prevent further attacks."

Flame had been just as shocked as her friends to learn about the attack by Team Fury in Blackthorne City when the story played that morning on the TVs in the Pokémon Centre. Jordan, especially, had been very shaken up by it.

"Blackthorne... I had a really good friend up in Blackthorne," he had said with his eyes wide. "He got his full Ranger Licence a few months ago. Oh, Arceus..."

"The city's already slaughtered!" the boy insisted, crossing his arms. "He should be down here, protecting Ecruteak!"

One of the girls in the crowd gasped and began yelling at the boy indignantly. Sighing, Julia faced the channeller again.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" she asked her. The woman shook her head sombrely.

"He may be a while yet, dearie. I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

Julia nodded, then turned away from the argument that had broken out and began walking back to the Pokémon Centre.

"Hey, Julia..." Flame began, giving her a long look. "Maybe that boy's right. I mean, you saw what was on the news. And there was already Goldenrod. It's probably not safe to stay here."

"Yes, yes!" Sir Majestic Tail jumped in eagerly. "We ought to find ourselves a safer place to reside until this situation resolves itself!"

Julia looked at the ground, rubbing an arm. "I dunno. I'd feel bad if this city also got attacked and we left to avoid that."

"We can't play the part of the hero," Flame said quietly. "We hardly made it out of Goldenrod alive. We could actually get killed if something happens again."

Julia's Pokégear began to ring and she quickly pulled it out, halting in her tracks as she did so. Fluffy groaned audibly but also stopped and crossed her arms.

"Hello?" Julia asked into it after taking the call.

"It's me," said the voice on the other end.

Julia pulled the device away and tapped a button for video call. "Leo? It said 'Unknown number' instead of your name when I got the call. Whose Pokégear are you using?"

"It's my dad's," he responded. "Mine broke. Sorry if I seemed kinda distant last night, but I need to ask you a favour."

Curious, Flame walked over to Julia's side and reached up on her hind legs to try to get a better view. Sir Majestic Tail gave her an exasperated look. Evidently, he wasn't in the mood for a long call.

"Okay," Julia said in a slightly skeptical voice. "What do you need?"

"Do you know any hackers?"

Flame didn't recognize the word, but Julia seemed startled by it. "What? Why do you need a hacker?"

"That's confidential. And, uh, they don't need to be a hacker. Just someone who's really good with finding stuff online, and, uh, if they were good at writing and reading coding and stuff, that'd be great, too."

Shaking her head, Julia said, "Dude, you probably know everyone I know and then some. I don't know any hackers. Leo, you're not trying to do something illegal, are you?"

"I don't know that yet. I might have to."

Flame was vaguely aware that the argument by the entrance of the gym had ceased some time ago, and was now sensing that someone was listening in. She tried to glance back in the most inconspicuous way possible, and noticed that red-haired boy standing some ways behind them. For a moment, he glanced over and met eyes with Flame, the latter of whom bristled and quickly looked away. He had no reason to pry on Julia's conversation!

"Is this about your website?" Julia asked carefully.

"A bit. I'm actually more about trying to learn about the mystery dungeons in Hoenn, and if there are any in Unova or Kalos, or even Kanto."

"Can't you go to an online forum to see if anyone who actually lives there could – "

"'Scuse me, miss," interrupted a voice, and Flame watched in horror as the prying boy walked over and casually grabbed the Pokégear out of her hand.

"Hey – !" Julia began, reaching out for it instinctively, but the boy had already begun talking to Leo.

"Sorry to butt in like this, but I'm your guy," he said, walking sideways slowly to evade Julia. "I listened in from behind her, and I've heard all I need to know."

In a dark voice, Fluffy asked, "Should I fry him, Julia?"

"H-hang on," Julia said, holding out a hand, "not yet. This guy..."

From the Pokégear, Leo's voice asked, "Who are you?"

"Name's Mike. I'll tell you right off the bat that there's no such thing as a coincidence, and that I intend to help you out. Give me your number and site address and I'll contact you on my own."

After Leo reluctantly supplied him with the information, Mike hung up and tossed the Pokégear back to Julia, then began to walk away without another word. She clenched her fists and ran after him.

"Who the heck are you?" she demanded furiously. "You just snatched my Pokégear from me and talked to my friend and you think I don't want an explanation?"

"I'll spare you the gory details," replied Mike. "All you need to know is that you're not involved and there's no point in me explaining anything to you."

"No, I want you to tell me what just happened! Nobody just interrupts a stranger's call and walks off!"

Mike sighed heavily. "Well, guess what, chick? I do." He pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket and released a skarmory. "Nice chatting with you." He hopped on the skarmory's back and flew off. Julia was left staring blankly after him.

"What a bastard," Fluffy commented. "I feel bad for Leo." She paused. "Naw, I feel bad for me. Just having to be within a tail's-length of that guy's atmosphere was painful." Sir Majestic Tail gently kneed her in the side for that comment.

"No such thing as coincidences?" Flame repeated, frowning. "That sounds pretty suspicious to me. What do you think he meant by that, Julia?"

The girl shook her head, crossing her arms. "I think I'm going to call Leo back. I don't trust that guy." She taped some buttons on her Pokégear, then frowned. "Busy? Already? Dammit! Mike already called him!"

_Something about this situation is giving me deja vu_, Flame thought to herself, shivering. _I don't like this whole procession of events. That guy is weird...but I don't know if it's in a bad way or a good way._

A ways down the road, she spotted one of the kimono girls from the night before, though she couldn't recognize which of the five she was. The girl glanced over, making brief eye contact with Flame, then walked briskly in the opposite direction. Flame suppressed a growl of frustration.

_Or maybe everyone's weird! The more that happens, the less everything makes sense!_


	38. Chapter 38

**Ladies and gentlemen and anything in between, the one you've been waiting for has at last arrived! And, in a lame attempt to make up for the fact that I hadn't been working on it as much as I should've, it's ridiculously long! As always, read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Julia heard when she awoke was the crash of waves against the shore. She could feel sand beneath her body. Wearily, she pushed herself up and looked around, squinting. The red sky of sunset seemed too bright and she felt disoriented at first. A bubble floated by and popped on the sand.

_This is...the beach..._

Flame lay nearby, his back gently rising and falling with each breath. Smugly, Julia realized that, for once, she had actually awoken before him. She walked over and nudged his shoulder.

"Flame. Hey, wake up."

He muttered something and turned his head away. Julia shoved him again, harder, but he stayed asleep.

"Let him rest a moment."

Julia glanced down the beach and saw Grovyle perched on a jutting-out boulder, staring out over the sea. Following his gaze, she realized he was watching the sunset.

_Where he comes from, there is no sunset,_ she remembered. _No, where _we _come from._

"It's nice, isn't it?" Julia asked, making an attempt at conversation. He just grunted in response.

_I still can't believe it... I was this guy's partner? How did I manage to work with him at all?!_

"Gods dammit, my head..."

It sounded like Flame was up.

The cyndaquil raised his head, then spat out some sand. "As great as it is to be back, was it too much to ask to land _elsewhere_? Y'know, somewhere less painful? And sandy?"

Grovyle did not dignify that with a response and stood instead. "This beach is likely not a safe area to stay at. Flame, Julia...do you know of any other place where we will be out of danger?"

"We could go to the guild..." Flame frowned. "I mean, that's where Julia and I stayed, but I guess everyone would freak if we brought in Grovyle."

"So that's off the list," Julia sighed. "But Flame, what about your hideout? Y'know, the one at Sharpedo Bluff?"

Grovyle gave them both a questioning gaze and Flame quickly explained, "It's a cliff face that's shaped like a sharpedo's head. There's an area, sort of in its mouth..." He broke off and shook his head. "You'll see. But we need to go through town to get there."

"Is there a way to go around the town?" Grovyle asked.

"I guess so. There's a wooded area on one side of it. Hopefully, everyone's in town, because many pokémon have their tents set up back there. If someone spotted Grovyle..." He shuddered.

"Then let's not delay." Grovyle turned and began to walk away, then glanced back at Flame and Julia. "Come on, we don't have all day."

Obediently, the two followed him. Julia took one last look at the krabbies, who stood blowing bubbles, feeling a twinge of nostalgia. It was here that she had met Flame in the first place, and they had sat many an evening together on the sand, watching the sun melt into the waves. Now they were caught in all of this insanity with the Time Gears and a crazy blue and yellow time dinosaur.

_Once this is over, we'll be able to relax again, and watch sunsets..._

"Hey, Julia, hurry it up!" Flame called out, and Julia quickly skittered after him.

They were fortunate that day. There didn't seem to be too many pokémon around that day and the crossroads was empty. Nevertheless, they crossed it as quickly as they could. Flame led them just to the right of Treasure Town, where bushy orange and yellow-leafed trees grew thickly and they silently crept past. There were some tipis set up, as Flame had said, but Julia figured they were too small to do much more in than sleeping. Indeed, they were all empty.

It was funny to be able to see the town from a distance, and even funnier when she considered that most of the townspeople likely assumed them both to be dead. And yet life went on as usual.

_Who would really care if we were gone, anyways?_

They managed to creep through the trees undetected and soon emerged at Sharpedo Bluff. Flame led them to the bush, after checking that the coast was clear, and parted the leaves to let them in. It was just as it had been before. Grovyle's gaze moved around the room as he inspected it, then he carefully walked over to the edge, at the sharpedo's 'teeth'. He glanced over the edge and gave a low whistle. Out of curiosity, Julia also walked to the edge to peer down. Far below, where the sea met the bottom of the cliff, jagged and sharp-edged boulders pointed straight up, like the spikes of a qwilfish. She shuddered.

"Don't fall out," Flame offered unhelpfully. Grovyle silently stepped away from the edge.

"This place should be sufficient," he said. "If we may, we'll stay here for the night."

"Of course!" Flame quickly grabbed some cut pieces of wood and set them up inside a ring of stones in the centre of the room. "It's kind of late, so why don't we crash for the night?"

As the sun gradually vanished, Flame blew some fire onto a pile of dried leaves he'd shoved between the logs and got the campfire going. In the mean time, Julia and Grovyle each sat on a straw bed opposite each other, quiet and looking away from each other. The longer they remained in silence, the more awkward Julia felt and the more she felt that she needed to say something. But what conversation could she make with him? Though she was a tad curious about her past – well, perhaps 'tad' was an understatement – not only did she not know how to begin asking, she also still could not believe it. Not fully; not yet.

Luckily, Flame spoke for her. Once he had sat himself down on the third bed, he looked up expectantly at Grovyle and asked, "So, then, it's true? Julia's...from the future?"

Grovyle closed his eyes and nodded. "However difficult it may be for you to believe, that appears to be the case." He opened his eyes to glance at Julia, who looked away. "Even I have trouble believing this. However, what Dusknoir said makes sense, if it's all true. Julia – " He flinched as he said her name. " – I have to admit I am confused about this whole thing. What exactly happened after we came to the past?"

_After we came to the past, huh?_ Julia thought. _The beginning of my memories..._

"I woke up on that beach," she began, gesturing behind her to where the beach was visible through the 'jaws' of the cave, "and Flame was there. Um... There were some jerks who stole his – oh! Hey, Flame, show him your relic fragment!"

Flame brightened a bit and rushed over to his bag, on the other side of the room, to grab the stone. "I don't know if you'll see anything in this," Flame said, plopping it down before Grovyle, "but is this pattern familiar at all?"

After scrutinizing the image for a moment, Grovyle shook his head. "If I'd have seen this before, I would have remembered it. Why do you ask?"

Flame heaved a sigh and shoved the relic fragment away with a foot. "No reason. I just keep thinking somebody'll have seen this pattern." Julia was unable to stifle the giggle that rose in her and she covered her mouth with a paw as she snickered.

"That's not funny!" Flame growled, but grinned sheepishly. "Geez, just go on with your story."

"But that's it, really," said Julia. "We joined an explorer's guild, called Wigglytuff's Guild, but that's about it. Well...there also was all the stuff about the Time Gears being taken, and we met Perry and Lucky..." _And we'll never see them again._

"I know it was hard to see them go like that," Grovyle told her in a gentle voice, "but it would have been catastrophic if their plan had succeeded. You understand that."

Julia nodded, a lump rising in her throat. Grovyle took her silence to mean that she was finished speaking and took in a deep breath before he began to talk.

"You...wouldn't remember any of this, but when you were a human, we worked together on the planetary council. You were chosen to join because of a rare ability you had – have – called the Dimensional Scream."

"Oh, yeah!" Flame perked up at the mention of Julia's ability. "How does that work, anyways? When she touches something, right?"

Grovyle gave him an odd look. "Yes, when said 'thing' is connected to the Time Gears. That is how the two of us were able to find and confirm the spots where the Time Gears had been in the past."

_Then that voice I'd heard in Foggy Forest, after I touched the groudon statue... That must have been Grovyle's voice! And he was talking to _me_!_ Julia tried to search in her mind for a memory of the past, of Grovyle, but she felt nothing but that feeling of familiarity she had gotten at the forest's entrance. She sighed inwardly, grimly realizing that she would likely never remember her past.

"But Julia also got dimensional screams at Blackfire Crater!" Flame was arguing. "And at other times, when the situations had nothing to do with the Time Gears!"

"Interesting. Then perhaps the ability works differently in the past." Grovyle shook his head, then went on, "Once we had pinpointed the locations of the Time Gears, we were sent back in the past, but...something went wrong." He paused again but, at Julia's eager expression, continued, "Something happened. As we were travelling through time there was turbulence...no, not turbulence. It's difficult to explain, but the Passage of Time wasn't working as it should. It felt, to me, at least, like we were attacked."

"Do you think it was Dusknoir?" Julia asked, scratching behind an ear with her front paw. Grovyle shook his head, squinting in concentration.

"Couldn't have been. He wasn't there. I remember that very clearly. We went through the same passage that we just took." Grovyle cut himself off. "Anyways, I've gotten off-topic. So, whatever issue we encountered while travelling through time...that could have been what caused Julia to turn into a pokémon and lose her memory... You really don't remember me at all?"

The grass type's expression had a look of hopefulness in it that Julia had never seen before, and she felt as though there was a slight twinge of familiarity again. However, she just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Grovyle," she mumbled. "There's nothing."

He nodded and seemed to sink into himself. "Right. It's...you were more than just my partner." His eyes closed and he paused, as if searching for the right words. "You were my closest friend."

_Even more than Celebi?_ Julia wanted to ask, but she held herself back. She got the feeling that this was a very emotional moment for Grovyle and she kept quiet.

"For a long time, after we were separated in this past, I searched for you." He opened his eyes again and looked at her with a tired smile on his face. "I thought that Dusknoir had captured you, or that something had gone horribly wrong, or – " He stopped again and blinked hard. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Pity bubbled up within Julia and she stood up, then walked over to him. Before he could ask what she was doing, she had wrapped her paws around his body as best she could and hugged him tightly. A moment later, she felt his arms gently envelop her as he returned the hug.

"Oh, Julia..." he murmured softly, "...I've missed you."

Everything else around them vanished. There was no fire, though Julia felt intensely warm; no Sharpedo Bluff; no Flame. It was just Julia and Grovyle, and it somehow felt right, like she had just regained a small piece of herself.

Then Grovyle let go of her and she was back in the cave by the sea. She glanced back at Flame and realized that he was looking away awkwardly. He wasn't from the world Julia and Grovyle were from. They might as well have been on opposite poles.

"We'd best get some rest now," Grovyle said to break the silence. Flame and Julia both murmured agreements and each lay down in their separate beds.

_Separate beds..._ Julia turned in her bed to look over at Flame and saw that he was also looking at her. He looked lost and isolated, and Julia tried to silently convey to him an assurance. She was his mate, and once Grovyle collected the Time Gears and did whatever he had to do, he would return to the future and she and Flame would be together, like they were before. She wanted to push their beds together so it would be like their bed in the guild, but he hadn't gotten her silent message and had closed his eyes and turned away from her. Her chest tight and her spirits low, she, too, closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Bad dreams plagued Flame's sleep and, after waking up for the fourth time, he sat up and looked around the cave. The fire had all but died and only tiny dots of light could be seen in the pile of ashes and charred wood. Julia and Grovyle were both asleep, and the night sky remained inky black and dotted with stars. For a short while, Flame paced back and forth around the cave, occasionally glancing over the edge to watch the heavy waves crash into the pointed boulders below, then, growing tired of pacing, headed up the stairs to sit outside.

The bold red flag, dulled by the darkness, that stood near the edge of the cliff flapped reluctantly in the light breeze as Flame sat down, staring out at the distant mountains beyond Treasure Town. Because of the slight incline of Sharpedo Bluff's cliff, he could see most of the sleeping town from where he sat. Beyond that was Wigglytuff's Guild, a faint pink against the brownish-blue mountains behind it.

_I wonder how everyone's doing without us?_ Flame tried imagining everyone's different reactions. Did Loudred throw a fit when the dimensional hole closed behind them? Did Corphish come up with some theories as to why Dusknoir did that? Did Chatot have to calm everyone down? Did Wigglytuff fall asleep? He couldn't help but smile at the thought of their Guildmaster sleeping amidst all the panic in the town square.

He sat there for a while longer, gradually becoming aware of eyes upon him. Wary, he looked around, but there was no one to be seen. Had he imagined it? Who would be up at this time, anyways?

Suddenly, the bush rustled and he yelped, startled. Grovyle poked his head out and walked over to Flame.

"Sorry if I startled you," he apologized. "You couldn't sleep, either?"

"How long have you been there?"

"I just got up." Grovyle sat down beside Flame and looked at him in the corner of his eye. "What are you thinking about?"

The slight curiosity in Grovyle's voice surprised Flame and he just shrugged. "About the guild, I guess. I miss everyone."

"Mm."

The two were silent for a time, content just to sit where they were and not converse, until Flame finally asked, "So...you and Julia were really close, huh?"

Grovyle nodded faintly. "Yes, I would say so. However, we weren't even half as close as the two of you are."

It came as another surprise to Flame to hear bitterness in the grovyle's tone and he began to feel defensive. "Well, I'd hope so. We are mates, after all."

"I apologize if I sounded upset," Grovyle quickly told him. "I didn't mean to attack your relationship. We – Julia and I – we weren't like that."

Flame let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. _Why am I feeling so tense? It's not like me to be like this. _"No, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

The sky over the mountains was beginning to become paler, and Flame guessed that Julia would soon awaken. Then, too, would the town. He hoped that the sunrise would come before the townspeople started coming out of their homes – he didn't want to risk getting spotted but he wanted to watch the sun rise. He hadn't been able to do so since before he joined the guild.

"When did Julia start getting dimensional screams?" Grovyle asked out of the blue. Flame considered it, trying to think back.

"Uh...not too long after we met," he replied hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

"Not long after...?" Grovyle frowned, then his expression became neutral again. "The reason we had worked together is because a human with the ability to have dimensional screams can only have one in the presence of a trusted pokémon partner. If what you're saying is true, she trusted you from the start."

With a shrug, Flame replied, "That's probably because I was the first person she saw when she woke up. I guess she just automatically trusted me."

"No. It's not just that." Grovyle turned his head to look Flame in the eye. "It has been a long time since I have met an honestly good person in this past. Everyone is becoming corrupted and violent as time goes out of whack, but you're pure enough to resist it."

_I already knew that pokémon were becoming more violent because of that, but now that I really know why, it feels more eerie. Wait...when I snapped at Grovyle, was that...?!_ Flame broke eye contact with Grovyle, unable to look at him.

"I'm not – I don't know if that's true," Flame mumbled.

"No, I know that it is. Julia...she's lucky to have you by her side." Flame chanced a glance up at Grovyle and saw that he was smiling down at him encouragingly. "You're not the only one who cares for her, too, I'm certain." Looking over towards the town, Grovyle added, "Please keep Julia safe, for everyone who cares for her. Keep her safe until the end."

Flame frowned, and opened his mouth to ask what he meant by that, but Grovyle shushed him. "Look. The sun is rising."

The clouds over the mountains had turned light pink and an orange glow began its majestic descent down the bluff towards Treasure Town, then the guild, engulfing the world in its warm glow. A glimmering white sliver of blinding light peeked out from beneath the mountain's jagged peaks, then slowly rose upwards.

The sunrise seemed to last for an eternity and when more than half of the sun was visible, Grovyle finally spoke.

"When I first came to the past, I arrived in the dead of the night. For a time, I thought I had not come far enough into the past, that there was already eternal night. Then the sun began to rise, not quite as majestic as now, but when I saw it... That was the first time in my life I saw the sun." He lowered his head, looking like he was trying to remember it. "I couldn't stop crying. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Flame...when I saw that, I knew for certain that I couldn't let the future be the dark one you had seen. I knew I had to alter the past, even at the cost of my own life, so that the future generations of pokémon could live in a world with sunlight. It's funny, the things you just take for granted."

Flame nodded, watching the sun continue to rise. "And Julia had that goal, too..."

"There were more of us in the council," Grovyle said. "Three other teams, though those were made up of only pokémon. There were others before us, but they were captured or killed by Dusknoir and his sableye. Julia and I have come the farthest and we cannot give up. Not when we're this close."

"Yeah. And – and I'll do anything I can to make sure you succeed!" Flame replied enthusiastically.

"Thank you," said Grovyle, and he truly sounded thankful. "Come. The sun is up and Julia will wake up soon." He stood and stretched his limbs, then led the way back into Flame's cave.

* * *

Julia shivered, both with cold and anticipation. The three of them were standing near the foot of the stairs to Wigglytuff's Guild, just off the path but still in clear view of anyone who might fly above them. Once she had awoken, Grovyle explained his plan to them.

"We need to take back the Time Gears once more," he had said firmly, "and we need to gather them as quickly as possible. I suggest we go for the one at Treeshroud Forest – unlike the others, it's unguarded."

"Right," Flame had replied, nodding in agreement. "We don't want to cause a ruckus or anything."

After Grovyle had pointed out where it was on the map, his expression had become dark and he had sat back, looking contemplative.

"No, that won't do."

Julia gave him an odd look. "What won't do?"

"It's too far from here. If Dusknoir is chasing us, we may not have enough time to get there unnoticed and return. We'll surely be caught."

Treeshroud Forest did appear to be far away – it looked like it was about the same distance from there as Foggy Forest was.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Flame asked. Grovyle closed his eyes and grimaced, then his expression became neutral again.

"We cannot get help from any pokémon from this time," he began slowly, "since they believe me to be the villain. However...there are two pokémon from the future here." He turned and looked from Flame to Julia. "Where was the last place you saw the pelipper brothers?"

Now they stood, hardly out of sight, waiting anxiously for the pelippers to fly overhead. The longer they stood out there, the more ludicrous it all seemed to Julia. It was more likely that Diglett would fly over than the pelippers. How would the two know where to find them, anyways? How would they even know they were back? Maybe if the flock of swannas that had helped them earlier flew by... But they didn't trust the pelippers.

_This is hopeless,_ she thought to herself, wrapping her tail around her haunches in a weak attempt to warm herself. Even Flame was shivering now.

All of a sudden, Grovyle fired a barrage of leaves into the sky, startling both Julia and Flame.

"What are you doing?!" Flame snapped. "Are you _trying_ to get us spotted by a townsperson or something?!"

A smile tugged at the corner of Grovyle's mouth. "It hardly matters whether a townsperson runs over or not now. Take a look."

Julia glanced up and stared. Two dark shapes were circling in a downwards spiral and came to a rest in front of them.

"Grovyle! Pleasure to see you again!"

"And you two young explorers, too!"

The pelippers had arrived.

* * *

"How did you know?" Flame yelled over the wind that roared past him the pelipper he and Julia were riding. The clouds were streaking past, soaking Flame through his fur and to the bone. But the ride was so fast that he hardly noticed. It wasn't every day that he rode through the sky on the way to steal a Time Gear.

"We make our rounds," the bird replied, elegantly curving to the left. "Ever since we came to the past, we've been doing the same job as any other mail pelippers, and pokémon training in guilds often like to send letters home." He chuckled. "But we didn't expect that we'd be delivering pokémon rather than mail today!"

Julia, who sat behind Flame, was tightly hugging him, her nose buried into his fur. But for some reason, he didn't feel the same rush of happiness he'd felt before when she was that close to him.

_Is it because of last night?_ he wondered miserably. Seeing Julia and Grovyle embrace each other the way they had had really shaken him up, and though Grovyle assured him they hadn't been that close in their pasts, Flame was feeling doubtful. Julia couldn't remember anything and Grovyle could lie.

_What right do I have to be her mate, anyways? She doesn't even belong in this world. Where she comes from, I'm already long dead._

"How much farther to Treeshroud Forest?" Grovyle asked loudly.

"Not too far now," his pelipper replied. "Would you like us to spread the word that you're taking the Time Gears for good reason?"

Grovyle paused, then shook his head. "No. Not yet. We need to convince someone who has the trust of many others. Er, not that you're not trustworthy," he added hastily. "We just need..."

"Someone who's better known in this world?" Pelipper suggested with a light-hearted voice. "Not to worry, we understand. Why don't we see if we can convince Dusknoir to tell everyone?"

After a while, the brothers dipped out of the cover and safety of the clouds and dropped down towards an overgrown forest. Flame craned his neck out to take a better look at it as they grew closer. Just like any other mystery dungeon, it was frozen in the season it had turned – in this case, summer. The bright green leaves glistened with dew while the grass before the entrance was white with frost. It was an odd scene, to be sure, but Flame was used to it. He had once seen a mystery dungeon of a forest half-buried in snow in the middle of summer.

"We wish we could go with you," one of pelippers said, looking down, "but see, we have to keep up the act of being ordinary mail-carriers. And there are these two kids who also came from the future that – "

"Perry and Lucky aren't here," interrupted Grovyle, briefly glancing at Flame and Julia. "They followed us into the dimensional portal and got trapped in the future."

"Well, ain't that just peachy!" The two pelippers looked at each other with relieved expressions. "That's a load off our backs! Good luck, then, if we don't see you again!"

_But couldn't Perry and Lucky still wreck havoc in the future?_ Flame wondered. _Why are those brothers so nonchalant about this?_

However, the brothers had taken off, one of whom shooting a wink back at them, and disappeared into the clouds. Grovyle only watched them for a moment before turning and walking right into the mystery dungeon.

"W-wait, Grovyle!" Flame protested. "Don't they know that Perry and Lucky can still – "

"Those two are no longer a threat," Grovyle replied in a firm voice. "Come along, there's no time to waste."

"Why not? Can't they do something bad – "

Flame found that he was talking to the trees. Grovyle had already gone in and Julia was in the process of following him.

_Dammit, that guy never takes a rest! Why can't he just take a second to answer my question?_ Reluctantly, Flame dashed over to Julia and entered the mystery dungeon.

The opponents in Treeshroud Forest were definitely less passive than those in the mystery dungeons of the future. It seemed like there were houndooms and kadabras were everywhere, and the pokémon became more vicious the farther they got. By the time they reached a small clearing to break for lunch, all three were covered in cuts and were exhausted.

"It's not much farther now," Grovyle said, looking around restlessly. He hadn't touched any of the oran berries or apples they had collected even though Julia and Flame had left him plenty.

"You should eat something," Julia said to him as she picked up another berry. "It would be lame if we all got killed if you fainted from hunger and we had to defend you."

Grovyle didn't even look over. "Herbivores didn't survive very well when the planet became paralyzed. The only things for them to eat were weeds and shrivelled grasses. I wasn't one to eat half-dead plants."

"So you're a carnivore, then?" Flame asked curiously.

"Yes."

Julia shuddered noticeably and turned her head away.

"You were, too," Grovyle added, giving her a half-smirk. "I suppose a pikachu would have a hard time digesting a cherrim, though, am I right?"

"Don't make me gag," Julia begged, looking genuinely sick. Grovyle's smirk didn't falter and he stood up.

"Finish off your plant-food, then, and let's get going again. As I said, the Time Gear should be nearby."

_'Plant-food'? Is that some sort of inside joke or something?_

Even though Grovyle had said the Time Gear was nearby, it felt to Flame like this stretch was taking even longer than the journey from the mouth of the forest to the clearing. It didn't help that everything that moved was trying to murder them and that Flame constantly had the feeling of being watched. However, they did eventually come to another clearing; this one was bathed in a familiar green-ish glow.

The trees on either side of the clearing seemed grey in comparison to the brilliant light the Time Gear radiated. Flame had never seen one in such close proximity, and he found himself being drawn towards it. The Time Gear itself was pale blue in colour, with eight small protrusions. It looked almost like a klink with its eye removed and a hole in its centre instead.

Then he stepped into a puddle. Flame reflexively pulled his foot away, only to realize that it wasn't wet. The puddle in front of him looked shallow and had a glossy surface, like that of ice, and was reflecting the Time Gear's light. But it showed no ripples from him having stepped into it. Cautiously, Flame poked it with his foot again. The water's surface remained still.

"What the hell?!"

He backed up into a tree and looked up at the leaves. They didn't just look grey, they _were_ grey.

"What's going on, Grovyle?" Julia asked, looking around wildly. "It looks like – like time's stopped here!"

Grovyle grimaced. "I was afraid of this. The paralysis of the planet...is happening much faster than we anticipated." His last comment he directed at Julia, but Flame was the one who responded to it.

"B-but the Time Gear! It's still here! Time can't have stopped yet!"

Without another word, Grovyle solemnly walked forwards and grabbed the Time Gear. The light immediately faded, leaving them in a clearing completely devoid of colour.

"The Time Gear has already lost most of its power," Grovyle explained. "It doesn't matter whether I take it now." He shoved it into his brown bag, then looked at the two of them with a grim expression. "Come. Let's return to...Sharpedo Bluff. We can plan our next move from there."

Flame didn't want to leave the clearing. There had to be something he could do here to help, to reverse this process. But even he knew that it was too late. All they could do now was gather the Time Gears and bring them to Temporal Tower...

* * *

"Grovyle, what exactly do Time Gears do?"

After they escaped from Treeshroud Forest, all three pokémon had realized, likely at the same moment, that they should have asked the pelippers to come back for them after they left the woods. They shared a moment of feeling incredibly stupid before deciding it couldn't be helped and simply began walking home. Of course, there was no way they could make it all the way back to the bluff before nightfall, but they at least had to make it some of the way.

Grovyle glanced at Julia, who had asked the question, and sighed. "Not even the planetary council could determine precisely what they are or do, or how they got here, but we learned the basics, I believe. Supposedly, they maintain the balance of time by redistributing energy created by the Temporal Tower. But because the tower is crumbling, it is no longer creating this energy. Or, at least, not very much anymore."

"Is that why Dialga is doing the, uh...weird thing?" Flame attempted to ask.

"Yes. He is supposed to be in charge of the tower and always in control and command, but because he no longer can control it, he, here, is gradually going insane." He sighed. "It won't be much longer before everything goes to hell."

Julia frowned, staring up at the sky. "So...why is the Temporal Tower collapsing in the first place?"

To her surprise, Grovyle smiled. "It's strange to hear you ask that again as though it's your first time wondering that. You always did ask the most difficult-to-answer questions." Julia looked away awkwardly, her face turning red. "But to answer your question – or rather, not answer it – nobody knows. It has to have started around the time that mystery dungeons first began appearing, which was too far back for us to find any data. Books, documents, that type of thing."

"Weird," Flame muttered, and nobody spoke after that for the entirety of the day.

* * *

The next afternoon, the trio arrived at the crossroads. It had been decided that morning that Flame would sneak into Treasure Town and try to gather information. Hopefully, he would be able to find out what was going on with the Time Gears, as well as anything else that could help them figure out what to do next. Flame had at first felt wary about leaving Julia alone with Grovyle, but he realized how stupid and overprotective that was and agreed to it. He waited for a while in the bushes where they had waited that morning while Julia and Grovyle snuck through the wooded area, then crept out himself. It was too dangerous to walk right into town, so he also stayed close to the trees. The way he was ducking in and out from behind trunks reminded him faintly of the games he'd played when he was younger with his sisters.

This time, however, it wasn't a game.

From where he was, he couldn't hear conversations well, so he snuck in close behind the kecleon brothers' shop tent, careful to not be spotted. He knew well that the two shopkeepers were gossips and figured that if there was anything important to be heard, he'd hear it there.

"Thank you for your patronage!" one of the brothers was saying to what must have been a customer. "Ah, hello, Slakoth! How have you been?"

"It...takes too much effort to think about how I've been," a deep voice replied sluggishly.

"Right, right! How can we help you?"

Another voice, also sluggish-sounding, replied, "We came here...for a specific purpose...but we forget what that was..."

"Very well! When you remember, Slakoth and Slowpoke, be sure to give us a call!"

Flame suppressed a groan and sat himself down so he would be comfortable. He got the feeling this was going to take a while. The brothers were casually going about their regular business, cheerfully selling and buying items from customers. It seemed like nobody was in the mood to chat for any length of time, though nobody seemed particularly downcast either.

_Maybe they don't know what's going on after all,_ Flame thought. _I'm probably just wasting my time here._

He was still debating whether or not to leave when a very feminine and upbeat voice greeted, "Good afternoon, gents! So, do you have that shipment of dyed bows in yet?"

_Sunflora! If anyone in this town's going to gossip, it's her!_

"Hello, my lovely Sunflora! Yes, we have them in, like you wanted!" There was the sound of one of the brothers rustling through the tent dangerously close to where Flame was sitting with his back against the canvas, but before he could even react, the kecleon had already found what he was looking for and had gone back to the counter.

"Take your pick, my dear!"

"Oh my gosh, these are lovely! Loudred, Loudred, take a look at all of them! Aren't they just...eek?"

"Hurry it UP, Sunflora!" growled Loudred in response. "I have to get back to my post or Chatot'll have my HIDE!"

"Oh my gosh, stop being such an impatient prick! Okay okay, tell me which one looks better – the red one or the blue one?"

"They both look ugly. Can we GO now?"

There was a sound that sounded suspiciously like a slap, then Sunflora said, "I'll take both, please!"

"Sure thing, miss!"

_Is she going to leave?!_ Flame thought in horror. _Sunflora, don't you dare go without exchanging information!_

But they said her goodbyes and Flame's only hope walked away.

_Arceus dammit!_ He had been so close!

"Fine! Be that way, jerk!"

Flame couldn't contain his curiosity and quickly peeked around the side of the tent. Sunflora was storming back over to the tent, a bow gripped tightly in each hand.

"I'd like to exchange these!" she demanded in a very pissed-off voice.

"Whoa, hey, Sunflora, you KNOW I didn't mean it!" Loudred yelled after her, rushing back over to her. Flame sat back against the tent, crossing his fingers.

_Please please PLEASE say something about the Time Gears, anything!_

"What happened, miss?" one of the kecleons asked Sunflora with a sympathetic yet humouring tone.

"Oh, nothing much!" Flame could envision Sunflora's livid face and he grinned to himself until he heard the next thing she said. "He just told me that the vine Croagunk used would look better on me than these!"

There was suddenly a silence between the four pokémon, broken only when Loudred insisted, "I really DIDN'T mean it! I mean, I wasn't thinking!"

"That's fucking right, you weren't thinking!" Sunflora spat. "You bastard! How could you even bring up something like that?!"

_Wait, what? What happened? What is she talking about?!_

"I AM sorry! What MORE do you need to hear from me?"

There was another pause, then one of the kecleons said in a serious voice, "You should have known better than that, Loudred. No suicide is a laughing matter."

_WHAT?!_

* * *

Julia sat quietly on her bed, cleaning herself. While there was a little water spring in Flame's base she could have used to wash her fur, she had found, over time, that she preferred to simply lick herself. It didn't usually feel awkward for her anymore, but she was occasionally aware of Grovyle's gaze on her and she couldn't help but feel rather silly.

_Did I do this as a human?_ she wondered. _But humans are tall, right? Wouldn't it be hard to give oneself a full lick-down if they were such a large size? I don't remember and I don't care. I'm a pikachu now, and this is what pikachus do._ That would have been a more effective self-consolation if she had ever met another pikachu and witnessed them doing the same thing, but she forced herself to believe it.

"So, you've adjusted to being a pikachu."

Julia nearly jumped in surprise when Grovyle spoke to her. She immediately stopped licking herself and glanced over. "Um...yep. That is, I don't remember much about being human or anything."

Grovyle nodded but said nothing to that. He was standing by the mouth of the cave, staring out over the sea. Beyond the crags and the stones there was only blue. The sea seemed to stretch out all the way to the edge of the sky, with no opposite shore in sight.

"Grovyle? What was I like...when I was a human?" Grovyle turned his head at Julia's tentative question, then walked over and sat next to her.

"Not much different, to tell you the truth. Your personality, who you are, it's the same now as it was then." He paused. "If anything, you were more passionate about saving the world. You were an excellent partner, always seeking new information and coming up with ideas...and ranting about Dusknoir and what an idiot he is."

Julia hid a smirk. "I don't know about all that. I mean, the Dusknoir part I can kind of understand..."

That made Grovyle smile slightly and he ruffled the fur between her ears. The action felt painfully familiar to Julia and she found herself half-leaning into his hand.

"You would have given anything," Grovyle continued, his voice soft, "to change the future for the better. It's because of you that I became so determined." Julia closed her eyes and rested her head against his side.

"Really?" she murmured. Grovyle laid his arm across Julia's back and squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"Of course."

_What...am I doing?_ Julia's mind felt foggy but the will to clear it was absent. _Why am I leaning against Grovyle like this? Why is he pulling me closer to him? I...have a mate. I shouldn't be doing this. I have no memory of Grovyle...but this feels so normal..._

"Grovyle...what were we to each other...?"

Grovyle released a heavy sigh. "It no longer matters. All that is in the past...or the future, depending on how you see it."

"I guess so."

"Don't be like that, Julia," Grovyle said firmly. "Regretting anything is pointless now. You have Flame, and you can't just abandon him. You love him, don't you?"

Julia nodded but made no action to move away from Grovyle. Not yet. "You're right. And I want to stay with him for as long as I'm alive."

"Make that time last," Grovyle said sombrely. Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled his arm away and stood up. "He's lucky to have you."

"Just...I want to know one thing," Julia said, looking up at him. "What were we? Were we, uh, in a relationship, or – "

"We were nothing." Grovyle turned his back to her and walked over to the steps. "I'm going to see if Flame is on his way back yet." Without looking back, he ascended and vanished from sight.

_Grovyle..._

Julia sat quietly for a moment, unable to process what had just happened. Then, decidedly, she pushed her straw bed over to Flame's, making a single, slightly larger bed for the two of them to share.

* * *

"So, what did you find out?"

Julia's question was redundant. Flame and Grovyle had returned to Sharpedo Bluff and the three sat quietly around the crackling bonfire. The cyndaquil looked pale and withdrawn, his paws tightly clasped. It was evident that he had found out something, and that the news was not good.

"I...well...first, about the Time Gears..." Flame swallowed. "It's like Treeshroud Forest. Even though the Time Gears were put back, they didn't work for long. The areas around them...time started stopping again, and it's getting worse."

"So we suspected," Grovyle said. "Then we need to formulate a plan to – "

"That's not it," Flame interrupted. "Somebody died. Julia...Croagunk committed suicide."

Julia's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"

Shaking his head, Flame murmured, "I overheard it from Sunflora and Loudred and the kecleon brothers. About a day after we left, Diglett found Croagunk hanging under the grate with a vine tied around his neck."

"It – it could have been a murder!" Julia protested, her ears flattening. "Someone else could've done that! He can't have – !"

"He did it, Julia. He tied it around his own neck, got into position under the grate, and let himself be choked to death."

_This can't be happening!_ Julia thought, feeling a surge of panic rise up within her. _First Bidoof and now Croagunk... Is everyone at the guild going to just die?!_

She and Flame sat silently as it sank in for both of them. Flame began to tremble, shutting his eyes tightly.

"This is because of time stopping, isn't it?" Flame whimpered. "If we don't do something...everyone else is going to either get killed...or lose their minds..." It looked like he was on the verge of tears. Julia grasped his shoulders with her paws tightly and he looked up at her with watery eyes.

"Flame, we're going to take the Time Gears, got it?" She hoped that her voice didn't sound as helpless as she felt. "Everything's gonna go back to normal. Maybe the mystery dungeons will disappear, too, and nobody will be in danger anymore... Don't you dare give up now!"

For another moment, he continued to stare up at her, then he threw his paws around her, breaking from her pawhold on his shoulders.

"I won't! I swear I won't ever give up!" Julia felt her face become warm and she hugged him back.

"I hate to ruin this moment," Grovyle said, effectively ruining the moment, "but I've already made up my mind that I alone will gather the remaining Time Gears."

"What?!" exclaimed Flame, letting go of Julia to face him. "But what if you have to fight? The lake guardians'll be more prepared! We can help you!"

But Grovyle shook his head. "You can help by finding out the location of the Hidden Land."

This time, both Julia and Flame yelled, "WHAT?!"

"Not so loud," Grovyle hissed at them. "I should have told you about this sooner, but nobody knows exactly where the Temporal Tower is located. All that is known about its location here is that it exists within a mysterious place known as the Hidden Land. For no one to have pinpointed its location, it must be someplace hard to find, or very far away. I will be fine to gather the Time Gears on my own – you two can spread the truth about why I'm taking the Time Gears so the guardians will know in advance not to attack me – but I'm leaving it up to you to find out about the Hidden Land."

Julia's mind was whirling. All of a sudden, this huge task had been laid upon them with no warning! And shouldn't Grovyle have at least found out about where it was before going through the trouble to take so many Time Gears? He would have had no idea what to do with them or where to go! And if he couldn't find it, how were Julia and Flame supposed to?!

However, Flame had already clenched his fists and given Grovyle a determined nod.

"We won't let you down, Grovyle! We'll go to the guild tomorrow and tell everyone the truth, then do what we can to find out about the Hidden Land!"

"Good. For now, then, we should get some sleep."

Grovyle and Julia were in the process of going over to their beds when Flame suddenly piped up, "But, um, what about dinner?"

"Don't we have some spare apples? I could get some from the bag."

Flame opened his mouth to protest, then sighed. "Forget it. Man, I can't wait to go back to the guild tomorrow! Even if it is buneary-food, I miss Chimecho's cooking!" Out of the corner of her eye, Julia swore she saw Grovyle smirk.

"Sleep well, you two," he said, then lay down on his bed. Julia and Flame sat down on their own bed and lay down as well, curling up towards each other. Julia shot him a hopeful smile, which he returned, and they closed their eyes.

* * *

The wigglytuff-shaped tent, which had for so long symbolized a warm, safe home away from home for Flame, now once again looked like a looming challenge facing him as he and Julia ascended the steps. It was early in the morning – not so early that the guild would still be asleep, but early enough that nobody was swarming in and out yet. Even though they had resolved to make their presences known again, he and Julia took the back route around Treasure Town so as to not cause a ruckus. After such a long time of always being on the run...they were finally coming out in the open again.

"Ready, Flame?" Julia asked when they reached the top of the stairs. The grate wasn't a metre away from him.

"Yep." He didn't sound ready. "I'll go first, then." Steeling himself, he shuffled towards the grate, then carefully walked over it.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" Diglett called out from below.

"Whose footprint...whose footprint?" Loudred responded. His voice wasn't as loud as normal and sounded sluggish.

_Maybe we did come a little too early,_ Flame thought. _When we come down there, the others might think they're still dreaming!_

"The pokémon is – it's – " Diglett's voice cracked.

"Yeah, Diglett? Who is it – oi, where d'you think YOU'RE going?!"

Diglett's head popped out of the dirt in front of the grate. His eyes bulged and he stared for a moment, then he vanished again. Flame glanced back at Julia, shooting her an uncertain look.

"It – it's Flame! And Julia!" Diglett screeched down below. There was a moment of absolute silence. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble and the guild's gate was flung open as the guild members poured out. Flame was no match for the wave of pokémon and found himself in the middle of a sea of hugs. He couldn't see Julia, but he got the feeling that she was in the same predicament.

_Well, it's not a bad predicament to find oneself in,_ Flame thought happily, and snuggled into the hugs, tears of happiness forming at the corners of his eyes.

The wave eventually carried them down the ladder and into the main crew room. Flame and Julia were deposited in the middle of the floor and the guild members stepped away to form a sort of oval-shaped ring around them. Wigglytuff ran at them and glomped them both at once, nearly knocking them over.

"Friendly friends!" he cried out, squishing Flame. "I'm so glad you're back!"

After he had removed himself from them and stepped away, Chatot hopped forwards, maintaining an official-looking stance.

"Well," he began, clearing his throat, "as excellent as it is to have you both back, we all should not partake in group chokeholds – "

Grinning, Flame ran over to Chatot before he was done speaking and hugged him tightly.

"I – what – this is unprofessional – " Chatot stammered, but upon being hugged by Julia as well, relaxed and hugged them back as best he could with his wings. "Alright, alright, you two."

"Hey hey hey! What happened, you guys?" Corphish asked as Chatot ended their hug.

"That's right! Tell us everything!" Sunflora squealed. "The great Dusknoir just dragged you into that big scary dimensional hole and you disappeared!"

Flame sighed. Here was the hard part.

For the next hour or so, the guild sat around in their oval and listened as Flame and Julia told their story. Many questions were raised and the two tried to answer them as best they could. It felt just like the nights he and Julia spent in the boys' bedroom, telling wild stories during games of truth or dare. However, this time, it was different. Whether or not someone believed him in truth or dare didn't affect the course of history and whether or not the planet would become paralyzed in the not-so-distant future.

When they had finished telling their story up to that morning, Flame and Julia fell silent, looking at their guildmates' expressions. It was hard to tell what they were thinking.

"Ahem." Chatot hopped forwards, cocking his head sideways. "So, let me get this straight. Dusknoir dragged you in on purpose, knowing full well that you would end up in a futuristic prison cell. Am I correct?"

"I wouldn't say 'futuristic' – it looked more old-timey to me – but that's correct."

"Then you met up with Grovyle, who, as it turned out, was stealing the Time Gears to save the world?"

"Yep, you're not wrong, though there was that whole thing where Dusknoir nearly had us killed in between."

"Then you miraculously found a way back, even though Dusknoir and his henchmen and some great...reverted form of Dialga himself were waiting to ambush you? So all the Time Gears now have to be taken to some Temporal Tower in some Hidden Land, and you went out with Grovyle to take Treeshroud Forest's Time Gear yesterday?"

_The longer to talk, the dumber this whole story sounds!_ "Yes, that's all true..."

Chatot continued to stare through him for a moment...then he burst into raucous laughter. Flame and Julia looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You two really are too much!" the parrot pokémon laughed. "First saying the great Dusknoir was actually the villain, and then that Grovyle was the good guy? You must have had a fantastical dream!"

Panicked, Flame protested, "But it wasn't a dream! You saw how we were dragged into the dimensional hole by Dusknoir!"

"Hey hey, he has a point," Corphish said tentatively.

_Yes! He's on our side!_

"But at the same time...it's a rather far-fetched tale. To go so far as to claim Grovyle was the 'good guy' in all of this...hey hey..."

"But – but you guys believe us, right?" Julia asked, her gaze flicking from person to person. Sunflora looked away, Loudred rubbed his arm, Diglett made a weak offer to go back to his post, and Chimecho wore a blank expression. Nobody would make eye contact with either Flame or Julia.

_No way..._

"Th-this is important!" Flame clenched his fists tightly. "You have to believe us!"

"That's quite enough!" Chatot squawked at them, flapping his wings impatiently. "I won't have you telling silly and blatant lies like this!"

"We're not lying!" yelled Flame.

"Can you prove it? How can you prove that everything you said was truthful?!"

Flame felt himself trembling and it was taking all of his willpower not to cry in frustration. Nobody believed them! Wouldn't Bidoof have believed them? He would have, right?

_How much do we really mean to everyone if they won't even trust us?!_

"Wow! Is everyone telling stories down there? Hey, can it be my turn next?"

Everyone looked over at the ladder, from which direction the voice had come. Flame unclenched his fists and took a shaky step back. A riolu hopped down, landed awkwardly on one paw, and fumbled to recover his balance. A spearow dropped gracefully to the ground below him.

"It...can't be..." Julia murmured, her eyes wide.

"Oh my gosh!" squeaked Sunflora, clapping her leaf hands to the sides of her face. "It's you kids again! Lucky and Perry!"

Lucky sauntered forwards, grinning in what he probably thought was a cool way. To Flame, it just looked plain silly. But he felt himself take another step back and take a defensive stance.

_How did these two get here?!_ he wondered. _And what are they up to?_

Chatot seemed to be wondering the same thing. "Wh-what are you two doing here?!" he squawked. "The last we saw of you was when you jumped into that dimensional portal after Team Eleblaze! And you'd been gone before that, after our guild went to Crystal Cave!"

"Sorry for not leaving you a note!" Lucky woofed, scratching the back of his head. Flame shot a glance at Julia and found that her eyes were narrowed and her lip was drawn back in a silent snarl.

_She looks pretty hostile,_ Flame thought, slightly taken aback. _Isn't she at least glad that they're safe, or at least not dead?_

"What happened?" asked Chimecho, floating forwards. "Oh, you're both injured!"

"Just a scratch," Lucky said and took a quick step back. "We're fine now, right, Perry?"

Before Perry had a chance to reply, Corphish nervously asked, "Hey hey, when you went into that portal, did you, by chance...go to the future?"

The other guild members looked shocked at his query, but Flame was focussing on Lucky. Corphish might be the only one here who would stick up for him and Julia and believe them, but it would take confirmation from Lucky for that to happen.

_That's why Lucky came! To make sure everyone believes in us!_

The corners of the riolu's mouth briefly turned up before he closed his eyes and shrugged. "Nope. The two of us got dumped off in some forest. It's a wonder we made it out at all! Like, wow, were there ever a ton of enemies in there!"

Flame wanted to yell at him, to say, "You're lying! You were right there with us in the dark future! That's where you're from!" But a lump had risen in his throat and he found that he couldn't utter a word.

Corphish lowered his pincers and dropped his gaze. "...Right. I didn't think so, anyways..."

For one moment that seemed to last for hours, a heavy blanket over silence dropped over the room. The hopes that had been riding on Lucky's response melted like a snowflake.

Suddenly, Sunflora walked up to Corphish's side, trembling slightly but looking determined. "Well, I don't care! If we can believe Lucky, why can't we believe our teammates?" She looked up and met Flame's eyes. "No matter how outlandish, crazy, or eek-worthy your story may be...I believe you!"

"S-Sunflora..." Julia choked out, her eyes growing wide.

"You can't be serious!" Chatot's voice was edged with scorn. "They're claiming that Dusknoir is a villain and that Grovyle isn't! And that in the future, time will be stopped even though we returned the Time Gears! Are you seriously saying you believe such claims?!"

"Oh my gosh, they're my friends, for crying out loud! Of course I believe them!"

Clenching his fists, Loudred also stepped forward and said in such a booming voice that everyone around him ducked away, "Sunflora's RIGHT! If we can't trust them, who CAN we trust?"

"That's right, hey hey!" Corphish agreed confidently. "Dusknoir has been making up lies about Grovyle and took Flame and Julia with him into that dimensional hole! If the brothers ended up elsewhere, then that's just because they jumped in too late!"

_He must have come up with theories while we were gone!_ Flame realized. Tears began to well up in his eyes but he blinked hard in an attempt to stop them from falling._ He believed us from the very start but he was too nervous about being the first to stick up for us!_

Chatot, in the mean time, was beginning to get more flustered, his gaze flicking from person to person. "This is ludicrous! That notion is beyond improbable! Why are you all – "

"We believe them, too, right, dad?" Diglett asked, his eyes shining. Dugtrio's heads all nodded in unison.

"Of course! Those who are already dead can lay curses upon others and bring them great hardships!" There was a pause before he added, "As fascinating and useful as that would be, we would never take the word of some ghost pokémon over that of those whom we trust!"

_Thanks for that clarification,_ Flame thought, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"I'm sorry for initially having doubts in you," Chimecho said apologetically. "But now I realize how closed-minded of me that was. Strange things happen all the time. For you not to have had a difficult-to-believe explanation would have been more odd than this. Please forgive me!"

"Of course we forgive you!" Flame assured her, looking to Julia, who also nodded, smiling. He briefly glanced at Lucky, who met his eye and winked at him.

_Wait, was _this_ all part of his plan?! To get everyone to believe in us on their own?! There's no way he could have possibly known that that would work!_

"Wow, now that's a cool story!" Lucky said. "A big misunderstanding? What a clever plot! I'd never trust a sneaky guy like that Dusknoir!"

_You're one to talk! You've been lying to everybody from the start!_

"Then it's settled!" Wigglytuff, who had kept out of everything up until now, walked over to the head of the group. "Everyone believes in Flame and Julia!"

"Yer missing someone there, Guildmaster," Loudred said, crossing his arms and looking directly at a blank-faced Chatot. "Chatot hasn't said ANYTHING about agreeing with us yet."

Wigglytuff waved a paw dismissively. "Oh, no, he believed the story from the very start!" He put a paw on Chatot's back, giving him a smile. "He just wanted to let you agree with Julia and Flame on your own so that your friendships would be stronger! Isn't that right, Chatot?"

"Likely story," Flame heard Sunflora mutter to Loudred.

"Does the Guildmaster really think we'll believe that cover-up?" he replied in a rather loud whisper.

"Hey hey, what can you do, really?" sighed Corphish.

Chatot, aware of the whispers among the guild members, shoved aside Wigglytuff's paw and turned away. His body began to tremble. "You saw right through me, Wigglytuff... There really is no hiding anything from you, is there? Hee-heeee..."

Then he turned back around, looking cheery and upbeat as ever. "Yes, it's true! I believed their story from the start! I only stayed quiet about it so all of you could have a chance to decide that you believed it! If I had spoken up, you would have just gone along with what I said!"

All of the older guild members just rolled their eyes at that and either looked cross or patronizing, but the conviction with which both Chatot and Wigglytuff had spoken and the ease they had had with replying was making Flame have doubts.

_They're either telling the truth,_ he thought, _or they're well-practised at this!_ Judging by his guildmates' reactions, it was the latter.

"Now, Chatot," Wigglytuff went on, giving him an expectant look, "if you'd please outline our course of action?"

"Yes, Wiggly – Guildmaster!" Chatot corrected quickly. He puffed out his chest a little and faced all of the guild members. "Now, our plans lately have been absolutely all over the place, so do your best not to get confused and listen well! If Flame and Julia's story is correct – which, of course, it is – then we should be looking for the location of the Temporal Tower, which is in the – er, what was it again? – the Hidden Land!" He met the eyes of Julia and Flame before continuing. "And, if it's correct that Grovyle is out taking Time Gears again – which it is – then everyone must spread the word that he is to be regarded as the good guy and that his taking of the Time Gears is for the purpose of saving the world! In other words, spread word of the truth! And, while doing that, gather as much information about the Hidden Land as you can!" He flapped his wings briskly. "Am I understood?"

The guild members replied with a collective, "YES!" while Lucky called out, "Yeah!"

"Then get to work, pokémon!"

Giving one last cheer, the guild members dispersed, most of them off to spread the word in Treasure Town right away. Corphish, however, stayed behind, looking at Julia and Flame expectantly.

"Hey hey hey, if you don't mind me asking," he began, "what was the future like?"

Flame frowned, glancing quickly over at Lucky, who was bugging Chatot and asking if he could issue the next call to action. He wanted to talk with the riolu and his brother and figure out what exactly they were up to, but he decided to answer Corphish's question nevertheless.

"It was...dark. Just imagine if nighttime never ended. Apparently, it had already been eternally night for a long time. I guess the other side of the planet has eternal day, since the planet was paralyzed."

Flame briefly wondered which would be worse before Corphish went on, "And all of this was caused by the Temporal Tower's collapse, hey hey?"

"Yeah. I guess the Time Gears had nothing to do with it."

Corphish frowned, looking speculative. "And if they're placed in the Tower before it's too late, none of that would happen?"

"That's the theory, yeah." Flame ducked his head and quickly said, "Sorry, could you give me a minute? I'd like to talk to Lucky for a bit, alone."

"Go on ahead. I was about to leave soon anyways, hey hey."

Exchanging a look with Julia, Flame walked away towards Lucky.

"But I can make my voice really loud, too!" Lucky was whining. "Even louder than Loudred's!"

"That's not the point!" Chatot noticed Flame and said gratefully, "Please give these two something to do. I'm already feeling a migraine coming on – "

"Wow, why does HE get to boss us around but I'm not allowed to boss him?" Crossing his arms, Lucky said, "You're just playing favourites, aren't you!"

"Please," Chatot repeated, clenching his beak. Flame didn't need to be told again and he quickly grabbed Lucky's paw and dragged him away.

"Come on, Lucky, I need to talk to you for a moment." Flame tried to keep the growl that was rising in his throat out of his voice.

"What, just me? What about Perry? You don't want to talk to him, too? You're also playing favourites!"

Flame sighed, tightly shutting his eyes. "Trust me, I'm not. Come on, we're going to our room."

* * *

Lucky's ears were perked and he was cheerful, as if he didn't know he was about to be thoroughly interrogated by Flame and Julia. His brother, however, was quiet and slumped over at Lucky's side, his eyes dull.

"I'll start off with the first thing that needs to be asked." Flame was glaring at them already, but he didn't look angry. "How did you get here from the future?"

"Simple!" Lucky replied immediately. "We took a Passage of Time over!"

"Not simple!" protested Julia. She got the feeling that this was going to take a while. "The Passage of Time closed behind us, or at least Celebi said it would!"

Waving a paw, Lucky replied, "Didn't she also say that there were many Passages of Time? The one we took was way at the top of a mountain! It was super hard to get to, but we had to get back!"

"And why is that? What are you planning to do here?"

There was a pause. Julia couldn't tell if it was because Lucky was trying to figure out how to word his answer or if he was trying to come up with a lie. After a while, Lucky closed his eyes, his expression becoming serious.

"You have to promise to hear me out to the end, okay?" he said, opening his eyes slightly.

"Sure. Go on."

"I – we – gave up on our original goal."

Julia suddenly stood up and yelled, "Don't give us bullshit! Tell the truth!"

_There's no way that they go through the trouble to return to the past if they have no purpose to!_

Lucky flinched, then put a protective arm around his brother. "I told you to hear me out! I'm not done yet!"

Before Julia could open her mouth to protest, Flame said, "Why don't we just hear what they have to say first?" With a sigh, she sat back down, still looking warily at the brothers.

"The thing is...we can't win." Lucky's voice sounded heavy and oddly sombre. "In the future, there's nothing we can do, and here, we've got the pelippers and you two and Grovyle – and pretty much everybody! It'd be suicide to just go around, taking a mallet to every Time Gear!

"So...we gave up. But we had to come back, anyways. Even if you don't trust us...you guys are our friends. We've always been on the run because of our ideals and we've only had each other to trust. But now we have you. And if you have to fight against Dusknoir again, we want to help you."

Flame's gaze had softened and he seemed to be in the process of standing up to go over to them when Julia snapped, "Oh, really? A fighting type and a normal-flying type? I think even you know that you'd have no chance against a ghost! I'd like to know the real reason you came over!"

"I'm telling the truth!" Lucky yelled back. Tears were starting form at the corners of his eyes. "I want to protect you, even if I don't have much of a chance against Dusknoir!"

"You're not fooling me! Why should I believe you now when you lied before?!"

"I'm sorry! I had to lie! I didn't know that – "

"You're just – "

"Shut the hell up, Julia!" Flame interrupted. He whirled on her and shoved her down onto the ground. "Why can't you just believe them?! We believed them before, remember? I thought you didn't want them to be the enemy, either!"

Julia tried to get up off the ground, but Flame was right on top of her, pinning her down. "But what about Grovyle?"

"What about Grovyle, huh?!" Flame shut his eyes tightly, his back flaring up in flames. "Can't you disagree with him for once?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're falling in love with him!"

There was a sudden dead silence. Julia couldn't breathe. Even if she could speak, what would she say? How could she honestly deny it if she didn't know herself?

Flame stared at her, his eyes widening in realization. "N-no way... You can't possibly..." His body began shaking in sobs and tears dripped off his face, landing on Julia's cheeks. She reached out a paw towards him, but he pulled away from her and sat back on his haunches. He covered his face with his paws but he kept crying, letting out choked whimpers.

Julia could feel tears forming in her eyes now, too. Flame was supposed to be her mate. She wasn't supposed to start having doubts about what she felt for him. She wasn't supposed to start having feelings for Grovyle.

"Flame...Julia..." Perry murmured. "Please...don't cry like this. We're all back here – back home – together. We all...should be happy..."

But even he knew it was a futile attempt. Lucky was in tears, Flame was in tears, and Julia was beginning to wish that Dusknoir's sableye had killed them back on the pillars. What was the point in going on living anymore? All that life brought was pain and even what little happiness there was was fleeting. Maybe Croagunk had realized this. Maybe what he did was right.

Death was the only escape from suffering.


	39. Chapter 39

**Well, I'm back from another long hiatus! Didja guys miss me? Or have you come to your senses and stopped reading by now? So here you have it, the long-overdue Chapter 39! It might help to go back and reread the previous odd chapter if you forgot what happened. You probably did.**

**As always, read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

Rain pelted down on the roof of the Pokémon Centre. Outside the windows, the sky was dark with thick clouds and the few people on the streets scurried about towards their homes or workplaces under the cover of umbrellas or a bag held over their heads. Despite that, the air conditioning inside was still going strong, chilling its occupants to the bone.

Julia, hidden under the thick blanket on her bed, scrolled absently through her contacts on her Pokégear, deleting names that were no longer familiar to her. Next to her was Flame, curled into a ball and sleeping soundly. Julia envied her a bit. Being stuck in the Pokémon Centre meant that she had absolutely nothing to do and she was unable to sleep. Even Fluffy was asleep on her bed. Sir Majestic Tail was occupied in front of the full-length mirror in the room, checking his fur and flaming mane and tail for any imperfections. Jordan had left with McMister on some 'official ranger duties', though Julia suspected he had just gone out with his quagsire to play in puddles.

The desktop computer sitting on the other side of the room seemed to beckon to Julia, but it seemed too far away and the air was just too cold. The heat radiating off of Flame made Julia's current position a very cozy one, but she was bored half to death under the blanket.

It had been a few weeks since Julia had first arrived in Ecruteak. Day after day, she went back to the gym, asking whether Morty had returned. But the ghost type gym leader was still absent and was not sending any messages to the public about what he was doing. In the media, there were growing suspicions that Team Fury had taken him, and blatantly photoshopped images of him wearing the purple outfit circulated the internet.

Julia hadn't seen Mike again, the strange boy who interrupted her call with Leo, and she wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed. On one hand, she had questions for him about who he was and why he thought it was so important to talk with her friend, but on the other hand, he didn't exactly look like a friendly figure. His tanned body and pokémon of choice suggested that he was from Hoenn, and the main stereotype of Hoenners was that they were very physically fit and strong. He had looked like a guy who could simply beat up someone who annoyed him, and she didn't care to find out whether he was that kind of guy.

At the same time, she was curious about what Mike was going to help Leo with. Leo had said that there was a chance that he would have to do something illegal. Biting her lip, Julia peeked out from under the blanket at the computer. What Leo had needed a hacker for probably involved his site, and now she wanted to see what changes had been made to it.

After a while of indecision, Julia finally gathered up her blanket and, steeling herself, stepped onto the floor. The carpet was cold against her bare feet, but it certainly wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be. She padded across the floor, dragging her blanket with her.

"Hey, what are you doing with the blanket?" Flame growled sleepily, glaring at Julia.

"Sorry!" Julia quickly replied. "I need to borrow this for a while!" When Flame gave no response besides a discontented sigh, Julia bundled the blanket around herself and sat on the wooden chair in front of the computer, then powered the computer on.

After a few loading screens, she was in. She opened up an internet browser and typed in Leo's site address. She waited with bated breath as the page loaded, then blinked in slight surprise when nothing appeared but a message saying the site was moved with a link to the new site below it. Anxiously, Julia clicked it.

The first thing that loaded was a site counter with the number seven in it. The text beside the counter read, 'Number of times this site has been taken down by the government'. The next thing to load was the familiar red text of the site name, 'The Inquisitive Pyroar', then all of the articles Leo had written below. But as Julia scrolled, her stomach began to knot up.

Leo wasn't the writer for all of the articles anymore. Unfamiliar usernames, like GreenGear and sandykebab appeared as the writers for some articles. And the headlines for these articles were more sinister than Julia had seen on Leo's site before.

"'New mystery dungeon uncovered in Unova! The beginning of the end?'" Julia read quietly, her eyes wide. "'Five mysterious disappearances from Viridian'...'Shocking information about feral pokémon concealed'...'Mount Coronet explorer found dead'... Great Arceus..."

"Goodness, my dear trainer, what are you reading?" Sir Majestic Tail trotted over and looked at the computer, then shook his head. "I can't read any of that but it looks like absolute nonsense! Why don't you go and watch cat videos again, like you did yesterday?" The ponyta chuckled. "Remember that purrloin who entrapped itself in that cereal box? Oh, I wouldn't mind watching that video again!"

Julia just shook her head, scrolling down through an article titled 'How a glorified clink restored their memories'. "This...this is getting really weird," she murmured, staring at the screen. "Leo's got a team now and they're all talking about mystery dungeons and the end of the world..." She shivered, suddenly feeling cold despite the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "Leo's always been good at scaring me with all his talk of weird things but this... It's like he's taken it to another level."

"Oh, come off it! It's simply your friend having far too much fun with his conspiracies! And," Sir Majestic Tail went on, his voice becoming pressing, "I'm certain we haven't even seen a quarter of all the videos of funny pet pokémon! Remember the one where the vulpix and shinx were sleeping side-by-side? Remember how adorable you thought it was?"

Even Sir Majestic Tail's cheerful chattering couldn't distract Julia from The Inquisitive Pyroar. Something about all of these articles was bothering her deeply and she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Hey, what's that one about?"

The voice at Julia's side made her jump. Flame was standing on her hind legs, gripping the surface of the table with her claws, and peering curiously at the computer.

"How long have you been standing there?" Julia asked, blinking at her. Flame shrugged.

"I got kinda bored with not-sleeping, so I came over to see what you were doing. So it's true? There are more mystery dungeons?" Her eyes glimmered with excitement. "Giovanni told us about some that have been in Hoenn for a long time, but I guess more are popping up now!"

Julia frowned down at her. "You seem...oddly excited about that."

"I guess the whole them-being-dangerous part isn't good, but..." Flame shrugged, a bit embarrassed now. "They'd be really good for exploring, right?"

"Good for exploring?" Julia echoed in bewilderment. "People have died in there!"

"I know, I know, but pokémon could travel in there, and it would be good for experience and stuff..." She trailed off and sighed. "I dunno, I think it would be kinda cool."

"Would y'all mind shutting up?" called Fluffy from her bed. "Sheep trying to get some sleep here!"

"We're terribly sorry, Fluffykins!" Sir Majestic Tail yelled in response. "We shall do our best to lower our voices for you!"

Fluffy dragged her pillow over her head and covered up her conical ears. "Thanks for trying, Fire-Butt."

Julia kept looking through the pages of the site, propping up her chin on a hand. It was bewildering to see the same site with the same hard-to-read red lettering on a black background, but without annoying ads on the sides and with so many different articles. Before, it was just Leo and his conspiracy theories; his articles had had very little evidence to back them up, like a fuzzy picture of what looked like a speck in the sky confirming that UFOs were real, and nobody in their right mind would really take him seriously.

But now, he had gained sudden popularity, with a few comments on every article posted, and the articles...felt real. Julia stared at a picture of a bluish-green gear that appeared to be floating in some sort of cave, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. Leo knew about sinister things, and Mike likely knew about them, too. Was there some sort of crazy conspiracy going on that Julia didn't know about? Did it have to do with what Mike had said to her – that she wasn't a part of it?

She jabbed the power button on the computer and held it until the screen went black, staring at the gear as she did so. Feeling weak, she stood up and walked away, letting the blanket drop.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Flame asked as Julia went to the door and began to put on her jacket. "What was that all about?"

"I'm going out," Julia announced, tugging on her sneakers.

"In the rain?" Flame padded after her, staring at her like she was crazy. "You can't be serious! What you saw can't be so bad that you have to leave!"

Ignoring her, Julia opened the door and walked out. She heard a thud behind her as she walked down the hall, and glanced back to see Flame wedging herself between the almost-closed door. "Wait up!"

Julia shivered and kept going, training her eyes forwards. Flame scampered after her, catching up just as Julia walked out through the main doors of the Pokémon Centre.

"Julia, please, just hold – gah!" Flame halted in her tracks when she stepped out into the torrential rain. "Couldn't you have at least taken an umbrella?!"

Julia still said nothing, staring forwards. Then she leaned back against a wall and sank down, curling her knees in towards her chest. Flame's ears drooped and she walked over to her side to put a paw on her shoulder.

"...I'm scared, Flame," Julia murmured after a long while. "These mystery dungeons...people think it's the end of the world."

"They're crazy!" insisted Flame. "You don't believe it's the end of the world, do you?"

"I don't know what to believe." The girl wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her forehead on her knees. "Morty is missing, Team Fury is still somewhere out there, killing people, and Leo is popular." She laughed humourlessly. "You know it's the end of the world when people are actually taking Leo seriously."

Flame said nothing for a while and just rubbed Julia's arm with a paw. Julia looked up at her with tired eyes. "Well, what do you think, Flame? Do you think they're right?"

"Of course not!" snapped Flame, her eyes blazing. "I'm not gonna let some jerks with powers and a few mystery dungeons make me lose hope! And you'd better not, either!"

Julia sighed and nodded. "You're right. I guess I'm just being stupid."

"You are."

Shooting Flame a small grin, Julia picked her up and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Flame. I guess these kinds of things freak me out a bit."

Suddenly, Flame tensed, her ears perking up. "Someone's coming," she hissed, whirling her head around. Julia tried to follow her line of vision and her gaze landed on a girl with dark skin and white hair, wearing a black raincoat and holding an umbrella, approaching them. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was.

"I-it's you again!" she yelped, jumping to her feet and pressing her back against the wall. Flame squirmed out of her arms and took a defensive stance in front of her, pulling her lip back in a growl.

The Team Fury girl unflinchingly continued to walk towards them then slowed to a stop a metre from Flame's paws. "Yo, kid, long time no see."

Julia looked down at Flame, but the quilava was tensed and staring at the girl. "But you...I thought you died!"

"My name ain't 'you'," the girl snapped. "Call me Tory. And did you really think someone like me'd go down that easy?"

"What do you want?" Julia asked, unconsciously clenching her fists and bringing them up in front of her chest. "How did you find me?"

With a snort, Tory replied, "Trust me, kid, it wasn't no walk in the park to track you down. All I knew was you were somewhere in this dump of a town and I swear I've been wandering around in the rain like some kind of retard for the whole day. Plus, there's all them cops patrolling the place like we all gonna invade today. I don't even know why I went through all this fucking trouble to find you."

Julia swallowed, remembering her previous encounter with Tory. She had easily beaten Julia up and had badly wrenched Flame's leg, even though Bugsy had both taken Tory down and healed Flame afterwards. In this downpour, Flame had no chance of beating her, and unless Julia somehow managed to use an electric attack on her, they would quickly lose in a fight.

_I guess we have no choice but to hear her out,_ Julia realized. "So...why did you go to the trouble of finding me?"

Tory's eyes locked on her and her face twisted into a scowl. "You've met Jerome, of course," she began. Her dark figure seemed tall and authoritative and she seemed to tower over Julia as she spoke. "The two of us were in Team Fury almost since it was started up, but he's never gotten as fucking obsessed with anyone like he is with you two. He's turned insane."

"We already know that," Flame growled. "Are you gonna get to the point or did you come here to ramble?"

"Shut your trap, you little bitch. Let's get one thing straight." She looked back at Julia menacingly. "I fucking hate you both. You seriously fucked him up. But he told me to tell you this message without tearing either of your heads off, so I don't have much of a choice. Tonight, when the clouds clear up and the moon's up, he's coming to end it – to kill you. He wants a battle but if you're snoozing, he'll just slit your throat." She turned her gaze to Flame. "You, too. He'll kill you both tonight."

"That's..." Julia trailed off, her throat clenching up. He wasn't really coming to kill them. Those were just words. Words could never hurt her.

Flame, on the other hand, fluffed up her fur and snarled at Tory. "Tell him to come and say that to my FACE!"

"That'd be just too easy for him, wouldn't it?" Tory responded, sighing. "No, I gotta slush around through the mud while he sits around, _not_ using his psychic tricks!" She spun on her heel and turned away. "Don't you try to run, either," she added. "We got people everywhere, in places you'd never expect. Ciao, kid." Raising her hand in a wave, she trudged away.

"That bitch!" snapped Flame, turning back to Julia. "I should've clawed her legs off!"

Julia smiled faintly. "Y-yeah. Let's go back inside, Flame." Then she stiffly walked over to the Pokémon Centre door and went back in without looking back. It wasn't real. Jerome always made empty threats like that. He just wanted to make them paranoid. Julia was certain of it. Then why was dread beginning to fill her?

_Scary, go away...scary, go away..._

* * *

Flame looked from Sir Majestic Tail to Fluffy to Jordan, studying their expressions. She had just finished telling them what Tory had said and all three had been left speechless by the end. Since Jordan deserved to know as well, Flame had decided to wait until he returned from whatever it was he and his pokémon had been doing out in the rain. The boy's messy orange hair was still dripping.

"This is ludicrous!" Sir Majestic Tail finally said, standing up decidedly. "How dare he threaten you in such a fashion! Why, I have never heard such a dastardly thing said by anyone!"

"You're right," agreed Jordan, wide-eyed. "Jules, you're in way over your head! Let's go home to your mom – the guy can't follow you everywhere!"

Julia sat on her bed with her shoulders hunched and shook her head. It concerned Flame how dull and dark her friend's eyes were and how quiet she was. She looked like she had completely given up. "He's a psychic type, Jordan," Julia said quietly. "It doesn't matter how far we fly, he can just teleport over."

"He won't know!" insisted Jordan desperately. "It'll be quick, and we'll have our pokémon to protect you – "

"Let her stay," Fluffy interrupted from where she was leaning against the bedframe. "I mean, she's got a point. She can't hide from Jerome at all. She's got no chance."

"How could you say such a _horrid_ thing, Fluffykins?!" Sir Majestic Tail marched over to her and glared firmly at her. "Do you truly believe that we have no option but to remain here and allow Jerome to pluck her from life like a fruit from a branch?!"

Fluffy shoved his muzzle away with a paw, looking nonchalant. "Dude, I didn't say that he's gonna kill her. I'm just saying that there's no point in running. It's better to just stick around and fight the guy. Y'know, like a 'once-and-for-all' kinda battle."

"I'm not going to let my cuz' fight a guy like that!" snapped Jordan.

"If you don't, Jerome'll never leave her alone," Fluffy responded.

Flame's ears drooped as the three descended into argument, yelling at each other stubbornly. This wasn't what they needed right now.

_Me and Julia's lives are in danger right now, and these guys aren't helping us come up with a solution!_

She stole a glance back at Julia and noticed that she was still wearing the same hopeless expression. She crept over to her and put a paw on her knee, but Julia didn't seem to notice it.

"Excuse me, hmm?"

Flame looked up and into the eyes of McMister, who was directly in front of her. She squeaked in surprise, accidentally digging her claws into Julia's thigh and making her yelp. The quagsire had been standing in the corner of the room while Flame had been telling the others what had happened, looking completely uninterested, so she hadn't paid any heed when he had reached into Jordan's bag when the arguing broke out, nor when he had wandered over.

"What is it?" Julia asked, looking slightly curious. McMister reached out a paw that looked like it was enclosed around something, and when he held it there, Julia put her hands underneath it. He opened his paw and a blue, pickle-sized object dropped onto her hands. Flame blinked at it, now also curious. It was shaped like a jelly bean and had a faint, sweet aroma.

"What is that?" Flame sniffed it a bit, but the smell didn't really appeal to her.

"This is a gummi," responded McMister in his normal laid-back tone. "Why don't you give it a taste, hmm?"

Reluctantly, Julia took a small bite of the gummi. Some of the light returned to her eyes as she chewed. "I've never tasted anything like this! Where did you find it?"

Jordan broke off from his arguing and his eyes widened in horror. "Jules, don't eat that!" he yelped, scrambling over. "We found it today, but, uh, we haven't tested whether it's safe to eat yet!"

"Where were you today, Jordan?" Julia asked suspiciously. Jordan blinked, then rubbed the side of his neck awkwardly.

"See, I was called out on an assignment to check out a mystery dungeon near Olivine," he admitted, "and we found a bunch of those lying about. Among some other weird things, but yeah."

Flame frowned at him. "Hang on, you weren't asked to go IN it, were you?"

"Yeah, actually. That was the whole point of the mission. The Ranger Union has been getting teams to go out and explore mystery dungeons. I mean," he quickly added, "it's not like it's some huge special thing. Exploration requests from random people just get added to the queue, and we can pick 'em to do if we want."

"Don't you know that people have died in those?" Julia demanded, glaring at him. "And you're just going into them to _explore_?"

"Hey, take it easy! This is the first assignment we took like this!" He held up his hands defensively. "Besides, this one is kinda further away from where people usually go. The reason anyone knew about it is the first place is because a little kid wandered in with her pokémon. Apparently, she got out fine and even managed to befriend one of the rogue tentacools inside. So mystery dungeons can't be all that bad, right?"

After a while, Julia's angry glare faded and she sighed. "Alright, fine. I guess it's good that they have rangers investigating them." She took in a deep breath and let it out again, then said, "Jordan, I know you're worried about me fighting Jerome, but I have to do it. Fluffy's right. He'll just follow us around forever."

Jordan stared at her, disbelieving. "But isn't it better to not be in danger of getting killed? He could torture you or something! And..." His voice turned surprisingly soft. "...you're the closest thing I have to a sister. Come with me back to your mom, or even the Ranger Union. We'll make sure he doesn't find you!"

"I don't want to live like that," Julia protested. "I'd rather die than always have his shadow hanging over me!"

Flame's eyes glimmered and she wrapped her paws around Julia's arm happily. Julia seemed to be back to her normal self again. Flame glanced back at McMister, who was smiling slightly.

"It seems," he began in a murmur, "that that gummi, mmm, helped remind her who she is, hmm?"

"Maybe," Flame replied doubtfully, although it did seem that Julia had perked up after eating some of it. The uneaten bit was still there on her lap. Carefully, she began to reach out a paw for it, but before she could touch it, Julia had picked it up and was taking another bite of it. In a few seconds, the gummi was gone.

"And who says I have to fight Jerome alone?" Julia continued. "You guys could help me! It'll be much easier to take him down if we're all fighting!"

"Atta girl, Julia!" Fluffy bleated, grinning at her. "We got'cher back!"

Sir Majestic Tail paced anxiously back and forth, then sighed. "Very well. If it must be done, we shall join you in your battle against Jerome."

_But they're still pretending to be allied with him,_ Flame remembered, still upset about not being able to taste the gummi. _What will they do when it comes down to a fight?_

"Then I guess it's settled!" Jordan announced, making a determined fist. "We'll show that guy who's boss!"

"Right. Maybe I should go to sleep now so I won't be tired tonight," Julia suggested.

"Shouldn't you call mom first? Just in case...y'know...worst comes to worst?"

Julia shook her head, then paused. "There's no way we're losing, but I guess I might as well. And Leo, too. He'll want to know." She pulled out her Pokégear and began to dial.

Flame could feel her fur standing on end in anticipation. This was it. Tonight would be the final battle against Jerome. And there was no telling whether or not they would wake up to see the sunrise the next morning.

* * *

Leo breathed out deeply as he ended his call with Julia. He spun around absently in his swivel chair and stared up at the ceiling.

His mom was still in the hospital, but she was recovering well and was to be discharged in less than a week. Leo would never go so far as to say that he was glad the incident in Cherrybark Forest occurred – Cherrybark Forest was the nickname by which the residents of New Bark called the formerly route twenty nine mystery dungeon – but he was appreciative of the fact that now his family nodded understandingly whenever he excused himself early from a hospital visit or meal to go back to his room.

Since his call with Mike, his site had become a bit of an underground hit. Other truth-seekers like himself gathered to comment on his articles or even send in videos, pictures, and stories of their own. Mike had done a very good job with the site's coding, making it almost impossible to be shut down by any third parties, and had gathered a few more people to write entries from Hoenn and even Unova.

However, the news that there was to be an attack from a Team Fury member late into the night was concerning; not only because his best friend's life was at risk, but also because he knew by now a bit more about how Team Fury operated. They put up an honest front to seem like 'dangerous but honourable' terrorists, but they used loopholes and sneaky tactics. And after what had happened in the other two cities, Leo didn't care to take any risks.

He picked up his Pokégear again, but paused before opening it. He looked to the corner of his paper-covered desk where Corphish had always loved to sit. Even though he knew deep in his heart that his pokémon was never coming back, he still kept that spot free of papers, just how Corphish liked it. The whole room felt empty without him.

_Are you reading my site, Corphish? _he thought to himself. _Can you see how far I've come? Are you out there now, still gathering more information?_

Heaving a sigh, he tapped Mike's name in his contact list and waited for the Pokégear to connect.

"Yo, Litleo!" Mike's voice greeted. "What's up?"

"We have a code purple in Ecruteak for tonight at moonhigh," Leo said.

"Come on, man, stop using your dinky codewords," scoffed Mike. "Just say – "

"We could be tapped, remember?" hissed Leo urgently. He could practically hear Mike's inevitable eyeroll.

"Fine, whatever. Anything confirmed? How many?"

"One that I know of, but it's a battle challenge."

There came the sound of a sigh. "Yikes. Tell you what – I'll put out an alert to Deadbones and his grannies. If anything happens, it'll be a full-out ghost attack."

"You mean, you'll be there, too?" Leo asked anxiously.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm in the area. I've been looking for a chance to beat up those purple-faced shitheads."

Leo gave a sigh of relief. "Great. Let me know if there are any developments."

"You got it, Litleo."

Leo hung up, feeling much better than he had before. If Julia got into any trouble, Mike would be there to help her. He spun around a bit more, then looked back at the empty spot on his desk. What was Leo doing in here? Corphish was out somewhere, exploring, and all Leo was doing was sitting in an unlit bedroom all day, absorbing the information that other people had discovered. The two of them used to explore route twenty nine together, looking for elusive oddly-coloured pokémon and finding new pathways in the trees. Why should it being a mystery dungeon change anything? In fact, that was what people wanted – information about mystery dungeons. And to his knowledge, nobody but him and a few clueless people had ever gone in.

Leo sucked in a breath, then went downstairs. Dorothea and his father were at the hospital, so he wouldn't have to come up with some awkward excuse as to why he was leaving. He grabbed Arcanine's leash off its hook and walked over to the dog, who was snuffling under the table for crumbs.

"Come on, boy," Leo said, reaching under a chair to hook the leash onto his collar, "we're going exploring!" He tugged on the leash until Arcanine ambled out from under the table. With some effort, he managed to get Arcanine out the door and in the direction of Cherrybark Forest.

The yellow caution tape along the length of the woods fluttered in the breeze. Dark clouds above painted the woods a deep shade of green. Leo gulped as he looked up at the towering pines. It would be so easy to turn around now and go right back home.

Arcanine's greyed muzzle lifted as he sniffed the air. He was a noble-looking pokémon, Leo realized, confident despite the danger ahead.

_No, not danger, _Leo thought. _Adventure_.

Pulling the caution tape up and over their heads, the two crossed the boundary and entered the mystery dungeon.


	40. Chapter 40

**There's a bit of a story behind this chapter. When I first got writer's block back in October, I was unable to write for a long time. I even thought I might have to quit the story. But one thing, one thought, drove me to force myself to write – the knowledge that if I continued, I'd someday get to write the chapter with Brine Cave. Every time I felt my confidence or writing flow ebb, I'd think back to Brine Cave and how I'd soon get to write it.**

**Why have I been using this particular part of the Mystery Dungeon's plot to drive me forwards? Well, read the chapter to find out!**

**As always, read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

Flame sat alone in his room, staring blankly out the window. Julia and the brothers had left some time ago, saying that they were going out to gather information about the Hidden Land. He had quietly asked to stay behind, assuring them that he would come with them later, when he was ready. Even then, he wondered if he ever would feel ready to face them again.

_I thought it was just a stab in the dark,_ he thought miserably. _I was just mad at Julia and I wanted to accuse her of something, no matter how outlandish. But that she's actually in love with Grovyle..._

"Argh!" he growled, punching the wall as hard as he could. A jolt of pain shot up his arm but he was too upset to care. How could something like that happen? Only a few days ago, they were close as could be, only needing to rely on each other. But as they spent more time with Grovyle, it began to feel as though they were growing more and more distant. Why? Was Grovyle really so much better than Flame that Julia had to change her mind about who she loved?

Still seething, Flame trudged out of the room and, ignoring everyone in the crew room, clambered up the ladder to the next floor. Exploration teams that sometimes visited the guild to take requests were milling about, talking excitedly about this or that. It amazed Flame how quickly news spread in Treasure Town. Only a few hours ago, the guild still thought that he and Julia were dead and that Dusknoir had saved the world. Now all anyone could talk about, from what he could overhear, was how Dusknoir had deceived them all and where the Hidden Land might be.

Flame sighed, his fury melting as he realized that if someone in town had information about the Hidden Land, everyone would already know about it. He wondered how far the guild members would go to hunt for information. Did they even fully realize the gravity of the situation?

He climbed up the ladder and walked out of the guild, then shivered. The air really _was_ getting colder. Pokémon were still buzzing about town, gossiping and chatting about this or that. From the crowd, Flame picked out a single purple figure marching back towards the guild. A yellow and green pokémon was storming off in the opposite direction.

Flame said nothing as Loudred marched up the stairs, but when Loudred noticed the cyndaquil standing at the top, he whirled on him.

"Y'know what I HATE?!" Loudred bellowed unexpectedly at him, his teeth gritted and fists firmly clenched. Flame cowered back and shook his head no. "That stupid Sunflora thinks she knows EVERYTHING! She thinks she can just TELL me who EXACTLY to talk to and who NOT to! Then she has the GALL to call me an idiot when I DISAGREE with her! She just HAS to have it HER way!"

"Don't you think you're, uh, overreacting a bit?" Flame asked cautiously.

"And that's the OTHER thing!" Loudred went on as though Flame hadn't spoken. "Whenever SHE gets all pissed off at me, I just TELL her nicely that she's freaking out over NOTHING, but when I get mad at HER, she totally FLIPS her shit! What a fucking PAIN!"

Flame glanced back into town but he couldn't see Sunflora anymore. "Loudred, if you hate each other so much," he began, "why do you still hang out with each other? I mean, she sometimes rants to me about you as well – "

"I'm NOT ranting!" interrupted Loudred, screaming right in Flame's face. "I'm just COMPLAINING!"

Stopping himself from saying that ranting and complaining were almost the same thing, Flame said, "So why don't you just avoid her?"

Loudred blinked at him, looking at Flame with a surprised expression. "No, I wouldn't do anything like that," he said, his voice calmer now. "Even if she's a pain in the ASS, she's still my friend."

Now it was Flame's turn to be surprised. "Really? I thought you were rivals, at best."

"Of COURSE not! Just 'cause we yell at each other, doesn't mean we HATE each other! Well, I hate her SOMETIMES, but only sometimes!"

"O-okay, then," Flame mumbled, trying to edge his way around him. "I'm going into town now. Uh, see you later, I guess – "

"Hey, I heard that you and Julia had an argument," Loudred interrupted. "Is that true?"

Flame raised his lip in a half-hearted growl. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Loudred." Without waiting for a response, Flame turned and went down the stairs.

_Maybe I'm just being stupid,_ he suddenly thought. _I mean, Julia doesn't know Grovyle any better than I do. She has amnesia. Or maybe Grovyle or Dusknoir made it up __– __that Julia is from the future! She might just be an ordinary, amnesiac, human-turned-pok__é__mon..._

Knowing full well that he was being too wishful, he headed into town, scanning the crowds of pokémon for Julia, Perry, and Lucky. At the time that the three had left his room, he had been too upset to get annoyed at Julia's obvious distrust in Lucky as he led them out. Even now, as he spotted Julia standing a few metres away from the brothers who were talking with Kangaskhan, the shopkeeper in charge of Kangaskhan Storage, he could feel nothing but dull acceptance.

Lucky glanced over at him, then grinned and trotted over. "Heya, Flame!" he greeted. "We've been going around and asking the all shopkeepers about the Hidden Land, but it's like nobody knows anything!"

"I'm sorry, sweeties," Kangaskhan said, looking genuinely sorry. "I had never heard about such a place until today. I wish I could do more to help."

"That's fine," Perry replied to her, dipping his head. "Thanks, anyways." He hopped over to join Flame and Lucky and sighed. "I doubt that we can squeeze any more information from this town, but this is the only sizeable settlement on this continent. I don't know where we can find any more information."

"You know this place better than us, don'tcha, Flame?" asked Lucky, nudging him. "You got any idea about who else to ask?"

"Um, let me think..." Flame wracked his brain, trying to come up with an idea of someone else who might know. "Well, uh, Wigglytuff and Chatot don't seem to know about the Hidden Land," he began tentatively, "and they seem to know a lot...so we'd need to find someone more knowledgeable than either of them."

He glanced over at Julia, hopeful that she might have some sort of idea, but when she met Flame's eyes, her expression became one filled with guilt and she turned her head away a bit.

Stubbornly looking away from her as well, Flame continued, "So, uh, maybe we'd have to find someone who's been in this town for longer than them. They've been here for...how long did Torkoal say?...six or seven years or something like that? Do you think – "

"Torkoal!" Julia suddenly exclaimed, causing Flame to jump in surprise. "He's the town elder, isn't he? Maybe he knows something!"

Flame blinked at her, but slowly nodded in agreement. "You're right! If anyone in this town knows anything about the Hidden Land, it's him!"

"We haven't seen any torkoal in this town, though," Lucky said, cocking his head.

"That's because he's always at the hot springs," Flame explained. "He'll probably still be there." When he looked back at Julia again, he noticed with relief that she looked eager.

"We get to go to a hot spring?" asked Lucky excitedly. "Wow, that's awesome! What are we waiting for let's go!"

Flame began to turn to go, then stopped and looked back at him. "But aren't the pelippers after you? What if they see you two?"

Waving a paw at him dismissively, Lucky answered, "Aw, we'll survive. Besides, what are the odds that they decide to take a hot spring break at the exact same time as us?"

"I guess you're right. Then let's not waste any time and get over there!"

Flame felt a paw on his shoulder. He glanced over to see Julia looking at him with slight apprehension. "Will we have to go through Blackfire Crater again to get there?" she asked nervously.

"Um..." He pulled out his map from his bag and looked it over, then pointed at a spot on it. "The hot spring are less than a half-day's walk away! See? It's right here!"

"Oh, I see it." Julia laughed lightly. "That's a relief! I didn't want to have to go all the way through that awful place again!"

"Yeah." Flame couldn't help but feel that Julia's cheerfulness was forced. He sighed and put the map away, knowing that he had to stop worrying about the whole thing. "Let's get over there as quickly as we can and see if we can get some information out of Torkoal."

"Hello again, you two!" greeted Torkoal as they arrived. He was standing at the edge of the empty pool of bubbling water, a crinkled smile on his face. "Come on into the water! I have been getting rather lonely here! Your friends, too; come on, don't be shy!"

Julia had to smile at the wizened old pokémon as she climbed over the ring of rocks around the pool and into the water. The last time she had seen him, it had been what felt like moons ago. Was it really that long? When had the whole time gear fiasco started, anyways? Sinking into the warmth of the water, she could almost pretend that she was back in that time, when life had seemed simple and when all she knew was that she couldn't remember her past and that she was beginning to have feelings for her partner.

"Cannonball!" yelled Lucky, and ran towards the hot spring before leaping up and curling into a ball. The splash he made completely soaked the remaining four of them, leaving Perry protesting and Torkoal chuckling.

"My, aren't we enthusiastic?" Torkoal smiled at him, then looked over at Flame. "The look on your face tells me that you aren't here just to relax," he said. "Is there something else that you wanted to do here?"

"I want to ask you a question," said Flame, wading over to him while Lucky gleefully splashed water at his brother. "Have you ever heard of the Hidden Land?"

"The Hidden Land," echoed Torkoal, turning his head up and closing his eyes. "Yes, I have heard of it. Is there some sort of rumour about it spreading around?"

Julia blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "Has someone already asked you about it?"

Torkoal nodded in response. "Yes, a few days ago, the pelipper who was delivering mail asked me about it."

That comment caused Lucky to freeze up and made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. _So he's more scared of the pelippers than he lets on,_ Julia though, frowning at him.

"At the time," Torkoal went on, "I couldn't remember an awful lot about it, so I couldn't give him a very good answer. Since then, however, I have thought about it more, and I have remembered a few details."

"Please tell us," Flame begged.

Torkoal bowed his head. "Very well. The Hidden Land is more than just a legend, as many say it it. However, it is in a place beyond seeing. It is very far away, if my memory serves, and very few can ever even hope to find it."

That didn't sound very encouraging. Julia's ears folded down, but she tried to keep her voice light as she asked, "So is there a way one _could_ find it?"

The elder pokémon nodded. "There is but one way. One can gain entrance to the Hidden Land if they possess...proof."

"Proof of what?" pressed Flame.

"Proof of their worth." Torkoal looked back up, as if trying to remember more. "Unfortunately...I still cannot remember what this 'proof' is," he added apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry."

"No, that's alright," Julia said to him, trying not to feel disappointed. "You've told us a lot. That really helps."

Torkoal didn't look convinced in what she said. "I may have told you much, but it isn't what you needed to hear. I only truly would have been of significant help if I could have told you what proof you needed."

"At least we know that we need some kind of proof, right?" Flame tried, looking from Torkoal to Julia.

With a sigh, Torkoal said, "I will try to remember. Thank you for your optimism, cyndaquil."

Julia was already climbing out of the water when she felt a pair of paws grab her tail and drag her back in.

"Aw, don't go yet!" Lucky whined. "We only just got here! And I've never been in a hot spring before! It's too much fun for us to leave!"

Scowling, Julia sank back down. She noticed that Flame was grinning at the riolu like he was their close friend. Why couldn't he see that Lucky and Perry weren't to be trusted? If they had gone through all the trouble to get back into the past, they had to have had more motivation than just wanting to help Julia and Flame fulfil a mission they didn't believe in. But she didn't speak out against them. Flame surely didn't trust her as it was, and if she said anything about how she felt about the brothers, he would lose even more faith in her.

_Why can't he just be the only one I care about?_ she wondered, looking at Flame with longing. _It feels like these feelings I have for Grovyle are bubbling through the cracks in my amnesia. They're not the feelings of present me; they're the feelings of past me. Or is it future me?_

After a while of sitting around in the hot spring and relaxing, Flame finally suggested that they head back to the guild. Torkoal gave them a farewell, though it sounded more like an apology than a greeting, and the four set off for the guild. Lucky and Flame led the group, chatting and laughing with each other. It was all Julia could do to not yell at them in frustration.

"It looks like they're friends again," Perry murmured. Julia hadn't even noticed that the bird had come up to her side to hop alongside her.

"Yeah," she grumbled, looking away from him. "Flame's too trusting."

"Lucky sometimes does that to people."

_Doesn't he get the message that I don't want to talk to him right now?_ she thought irritably.

"I would never be able to get anyone to trust me like he can," Perry went on. His chirp was quiet.

Julia gave in and replied, "He's just better at talking to people, I guess. You don't say as much to others as he does."

Perry sighed. "It feels like I don't even exist sometimes. I'm always in his shadow."

"I can't argue with that."

"I wish it was different. I love him, but nobody notices me when he's with me."

Julia felt a twinge of sympathy for him that she couldn't shake off. "He does kind of take up centre stage, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Perry glanced up at her, his expression reserved. "I know you don't trust us, Julia, but...thanks for letting me talk at you."

"No problem." She looked back up at Flame and Lucky and her ears drooped. She wanted to talk to Flame, to explain to him that whatever she felt was in the past and she wanted to put it behind her. But now, they had important information that the guild needed to know. They could talk later.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they returned to the guild. Julia had scanned the sky on their walk back for any sign of the pelippers, but nothing had flown overhead. She supposed it made sense – up in those altitudes, it would be cold for flying. Even on the ground, the air was crisp and cool and she could sometimes see the little white puffs of her breath.

It was a relief to step into the warmth of the guild, though Julia suspected it wouldn't be quite so cozy in the wintertime. Most of the guild members had returned by now and were standing about, talking amongst themselves. Corphish, upon spotting Julia, Flame, and the brothers returning, scuttled over.

"Hey, hey, did you learn anything new?" he asked anxiously.

Flame nodded at him. "We're gonna wait until everyone's here to say it."

Once Sunflora returned to the guild, shooting Loudred a brief irritated glare, Flame and Julia gathered the guild members around to reveal the information Torkoal had given them. By the time Flame finished speaking, Julia could tell that most pokémon were slightly disappointed.

"So Torkoal CONVENIENTLY forgot the most important thing?" Loudred scoffed. "I say he made the WHOLE thing up just so he could tell the YOUNG'UNS a story!"

"Oh my gosh, can't you just shut up for a moment, Loudred?" snapped Sunflora at him. "At least he actually knew _something_! And that's better than nothing!"

"Sunflora is right," said Chatot, hopping forwards. "As disappointing as it is that Torkoal could not remember what this 'proof' was, at least we have confirmation of the Hidden Land's existence, as well as the knowledge that it is someplace very far away. We may have more luck with information-gathering if we branch out further. However!" He flapped his wings briskly to silence the whispers that were beginning to rise up from the guild members. "Now it is late in the day, so we shall continue all of that tomorrow. Now, then, let us have dinner!"

A collective cheer rose up from everyone and they thundered into the dining hall. Flame and Julia sat side-by-side, as they always did, but Julia could feel Flame's reluctance to look at her. She picked at her food quietly; she didn't have much of an appetite.

After dinner, everyone dispersed to their rooms, sounding more languid and tired than before dinner – besides Lucky, who skipped brightly down the hall, dragging Perry behind him by a wing.

"See you guys in the morning!" he woofed at Flame and Julia before vanishing into his room.

"'Bye," Flame muttered, yawning. Julia followed him with her paws clasped in front of her, uncertain of how to start a conversation. She realized when they stepped into their room that their beds were still pushed together. Like it or not, they were going to have to sleep together.

Flame sat himself down on the edge of the bed and stared up at the moon through the window. Julia followed his gaze, then looked at him. His expression was unreadable, almost solemn.

"Flame," she finally began softly. He lowered his head but didn't look at her. "Flame, I...I don't know who I used to be when I was a human. I don't remember any of it. And what I feel for Grovyle...it's just..."

"I know," he replied unexpectedly. "You don't want to feel it."

Julia blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah, you're right. I don't have any reason to like him any more than an ally now. But I know why I love you, and I don't want our relationship to change."

Flame heaved a sigh, shaking his head. "I don't, either. But it doesn't matter whether or not you _want_ to like him, you just do."

"No, I don't! I'm trying to stop!"

"Julia..." Flame finally turned his head to her, his eyes closed. "You wanted your memory back when I first met you, and for a while afterwards, too. And here it is – you're remembering your feelings for Grovyle. I've been thinking about it, Julia. He feel for you, too; I can tell. You'd known each other for longer than I've known you. And I'm not going to stand in the way of that." Tears were forming at the corners of his eyes, but his voice remained steady and unwavering. "You're perfect for each other. So, for him...forget about me."

"You know I'm never going to do that!" Julia cried, anger mingled with fear edging her voice. "You're my mate, Flame! I'm not just going back on that!"

"We both know I can never replace him," Flame told her dejectedly. "Please, this is hard for me to say. Just...accept it. Please."

Julia felt tears gathering in her own eyes. Why wasn't he listening to her? "I can't accept that!"

"I want you to be happy. You won't be happy if you're constantly forcing yourself to not be in love with him." He turned away and laid down on the edge of the bed. "You're from a different world, and I shouldn't be a part of it."

"You...!" Anger and conflicting feeling overwhelmed her and there was nothing she could do but lay down on the bed with her back to him, trying to calm herself down. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to be with anyone else but him?

But deep in her mind, she felt relief. _He's right. Grovyle and I have history, even if I don't remember it. It's not fair to him that he came looking for me only to learn that I had forgotten him and was with someone else._

_ No, what am I thinking?! I don't want to like him; I want Flame!_ Julia bit her lip as she shut her eyes, squeezing out hot tears. _Maybe Flame will realize how stupid he's being in the morning. Then he'll accept that I don't want to care about Grovyle._

* * *

Flame had slept well and dreamlessly and when he woke up to a light morning rain, he felt calm.

_I said to Julia what I needed to say,_ he remembered. It was a weight off his back, though he still felt small fragments of misery inside himself when he looked at the still-sleeping pikachu. He had wanted to graduate together and live together in his Sharpedo Bluff hideaway, but those dreams were over now. Once they had found the Hidden Land and stopped the Temporal Tower from collapsing, she and Grovyle could return to the future. Maybe she would even regain her memories. Maybe she would be able to forget Flame.

"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred's thunderous roar snapped Flame out of his thoughts.

"I'm up!" Julia yelled back at him, hopping up to her paws.

"GOOD." Loudred gave them both a look, then stomped off again.

Flame shot Julia a faint smile. "Come on, let's go to the morning address!" he said cheerfully. She looked back at him with a pained expression.

"Flame...what you said last night..." she began, but Flame interrupted her quickly.

"I'm not going back on what I said," he informed her before she could say anything more. "Hey, but Chatot will yell at us if we're late! C'mon!" He walked out of the room, faintly aware of her trailing behind him.

Wigglytuff was just walking out of his office, yawning, as Chatot hopped out in front of everyone.

"Now, then!" he began briskly. "Yesterday, we learned of a certain 'proof' that is required to get to the Hidden Land. Today, we shall be branching out and scouring the continent for further details of this proof! I carefully devised teams last night, very selectively picking pokémon who would work the best in each corner of the land – or sea. The Guildmaster assisted me in the selection process, so the teams are the absolute best matches possible!"

"And it was so _boring_!" Wigglytuff whined, his ears flopping over dramatically.

"Well, but it was meticulous!" defended Chatot. "Of course it wasn't the most exciting of tasks! And we both lost a good deal of sleep over it..." Chatot trailed off, then shook his head. "No matter! I shall be calling out the teams now!"

He was just reaching for a piece of paper when Diglett suddenly yelled, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

Loudred sighed and trudged over to his position at the lookout hole. "It's too EARLY for this..." he grumbled, then yelled, "WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"It's... Hey, it's Torkoal, the village elder! I didn't know he was still alive!"

"Who CARES? Let him in!"

After a minute or so, the old torkoal clambered awkwardly down the ladder, puffing heavily. "Goodness, all of these ladders are doing a number on my old bones!" he groaned. "And I already had to walk such a distance this morning... Give me a moment, young ones..."

He stood still, trying to catch his breath, then sighed. "Very well. I shall be alright now. Flame, Julia, I have remembered what I had yesterday forgotten!"

Flame exchanged an excited glance with Julia. "You mean, you remember what the proof is?"

"Yes, that is correct!"

Chatot threw his papers up in the air and stalked back and forth furiously. "Why do I even – why should I even – is there even – gah!" He was on the path to Wigglytuff's office, likely to march in and slam the door behind him, but he seemed to realize halfway there that Torkoal had very important information and he stopped abruptly.

"V-very well," he squawked, folding his wings neatly and raising his head again. "What is this 'proof'?"

Torkoal closed his eyes, frowning. "It's...hmm...oh, dear, I seem to have forgotten it again."

That caused Chatot's eye to twitch and he began muttering to himself. Finally, he flew right up in Torkoal's face and screeched, "THEN WHY DID YOU BOTHER COMING HERE?!"

Torkoal chuckled at him. "Oh, I was only teasing, Chatot. You do have such animated reactions."

Chatot stared at him; his anger melted almost visibly. Then, he sank to the ground, his wings splayed out. "Just...tell us what you remembered, already."

Stifling another chuckle, Torkoal said, "I unfortunately cannot remember much more about the proof; not what exactly it is, nor what it looks like. However, it is a physical object – perhaps a stone, or a piece of wood. And..." He scrunched up his eyes, trying to remember further. "Upon it, there is an inscription of some kind. Some kind of intricate pattern that I have long forgotten, though it is unmistakeable. If I were to see it, I would know it."

Flame sat back in puzzlement with the rest of the guild until Julia jabbed him sharply in the side.

"Ow!" he hissed. "What was that for?"

"What if it's your relic fragment?" she whispered back, her eyes urgent. Flame shook his head.

"It couldn't be."

"It won't hurt to check, will it?"

Flame sighed and nodded, then said to Torkoal, "Hang on a second, let me get something." He dashed off back to his room and rifled through his bag until he found his relic fragment. He dusted off its flat surface and began to walk back with it. It _did_ have an odd pattern on it. Was this his relic fragment's purpose? To be the key to the Hidden Land?

Flame set down the stone in front of Torkoal and the rest of the guild quickly crowded around it. Torkoal squinted at the stone, then took a sudden step back. "That's it!" he gasped. "This is the proof to accessing the Hidden Land!" He turned his gaze to Flame, his eyes wide with shock. "Tell me, boy, where did you find this?"

Flame, conscious of the eager stares of his guildmates, replied, "I don't remember where exactly I found it, but I've had it for a while. It's my most precious treasure."

"A precious treasure, it is!" The old torkoal was disbelieving but he shook his head and gave Flame a firm look. "That stone chooses someone with a pure heart as one who is allowed to go to the Hidden Land. And it appears that it has chosen you."

Flame's face burned. Chosen? Him? If a stone could choose someone, why would it choose someone who had been as cowardly as he?

_But I'm not a coward anymore,_ he realized. _I've fought legendary pokémon, gone to the future, and gone on so many dangerous adventures. But even though I was scared, I didn't back down from danger. And that was all because I met Julia..._ He glanced back at her and it felt like a wave of misery was crashing upon him. _...And now I've given her up. My dearest friend..._

Chatot and Wigglytuff were also staring at the stone in shock "Wigglytuff," Chatot began slowly, "isn't this...?"

The level of awed wonder in his voice brought Flame back to the present. Wigglytuff, who was standing next to Chatot, nodded.

"This is the exact same pattern that we saw in Brine Cave," Wigglytuff murmured.

"Wait, WHAT?!" yelled Loudred. "You mean, you two have seen this pattern before?!"

Flame felt as much astonishment as Loudred and he took a step towards the two. "Are you telling the truth?" he asked warily.

"Some years back, the two of us were exploring through a distant mystery dungeon known as Brine Cave," Wigglytuff explained. "At the end of the dungeon, we saw this pattern."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'll bet that was no coincidence!" Corphish said enthusiastically. "That pattern at the end of Brine Cave must have something to do with the Hidden Land!"

"Eek! You're right!" Sunflora squeaked.

"Then what are we WAITING for? Let's GO to Brine Cave and bring Flame's rock over there already!"

Wigglytuff shook his head. "There's something important that I haven't told you! That mystery dungeon is the hideout of a very fierce gang! When Chatot and I went in there last time, we were both badly hurt and only managed to beat them by the skins of our teeth!"

The whole guild fell silent and Flame blanched. Everyone knew how powerful the Guildmaster and his right-hand bird were. For them to almost lose to _anyone_ meant that the foe had to be extremely tough.

_Just how powerful _is _this gang?!_ Flame wondered.

"Wigglytuff speaks no lie," Chatot said gravely. "In other words, we cannot simply rush into that mystery dungeon without proper preparation. If we truly must go to Brine Cave, we will have to organize you into groups and make sure you all are fully equipped to deal with the gang."

Flame noticed that now the guild members didn't seem quite so eager to go to Brine Cave anymore. He supposed that he wasn't, either; not only would there be powerful foes to beat, it sounded like it was full of water type pokémon. Although Julia was good at taking down water types, he couldn't do much against them, and those that were also ground types were difficult for Julia, as well.

"I am sorry that I cannot do anything more to help," Torkoal said with a sigh. "But these old bones will no longer serve me well in damp places such as Brine Cave."

"You've helped plenty, friend," Wigglytuff assured him cheerfully. "I have complete faith in my trainees! Now, Chatot, if you will?"

Chatot cleared his throat, then addressed, "Today will be a day for preparation! Eat your gummis, train at the Marowak Dojo, stock up on supplies, and take it easy on any job requests you may take! You don't want to be injured for tomorrow! Understood? Then get to work!"

"HOORAY!" everyone cheered, as was routine, and dashed off in various directions to get ready.

Flame turned to Julia, ignoring the fact that she couldn't meet his eyes, and said, "Come on, let's take a couple of requests to train for Brine Cave!"

She nodded and forced a smile, then led the way up the ladder.

* * *

Chatot sighed as all of the guild members dispersed. It felt as though all of his feathers were tensed.

_Brine Cave...I haven't even heard the name in quite some time..._

"Now, then, Guildmaster," he began, turning to Wigglytuff, "we should get to work on the list of teams who will venture through Brine Cave together. I do believe we can keep most of the teams we'd already come up with last night – just a small bit of reshuffling to balance the typings, and we will of course have to add ourselves in – "

"Actually, Chatot," Wigglytuff interrupted, smiling down at Chatot, "there's an errand I need to run today and I don't think I'll be back until tomorrow afternoon."

Chatot blinked at him in surprise. "An errand?" he repeated.

"Yep! It's very important that I do it before the expedition to Brine Cave! While I'm gone, would you mind taking my place as Guildmaster?"

"W-what?!" Chatot hopped back, bewildered. "T-taking your place?! I could never do that!" He was always content with being second-in-command, and even though he came up with most plans of action and always did the call to arms, the idea that he would be completely in charge shocked him.

Wigglytuff patted his head comfortingly, still smiling. "I know you can do it!"

Swallowing hard, Chatot squawked weakly, "V-very well."

"And...one more thing." Wigglytuff's smile faded a bit. "I don't want you to go to Brine Cave."

This time, Chatot felt both shock and defiance. "What do you mean? Of course I'm going to Brine Cave!"

"I don't want what happened last time to happen to you again," Wigglytuff told him gently. "I'm sorry, but it's safer this way."

"Safer for whom?" snapped Chatot. "Not for the guild members, that's for certain!"

"Chatot...I'm worried for you. I won't be there this time if something happens." Wigglytuff's round emerald eyes looked to be almost on the verge of tears. Chatot hated it when Wigglytuff fussed over him like this, but though he didn't like to admit it, he knew it was for a good reason. Their last visit to Brine Cave hadn't occurred quite like Wigglytuff had insinuated to the guild members, that they had both fought against the gang. What had happened was that Chatot took the first hit and fainted immediately. When he came to, feeling weak, it was to see all three gang members sprawled out on the cavern floor and Wigglytuff breathing heavily. Chatot later fainted again from blood loss from his wounds after seeing the wall with the odd symbol painted on it, and woke up later in the guild.

Despite this, Chatot still felt the urge to go to Brine Cave. He had to prove that he wasn't the same weak bird who had been taken down right away.

"Please, Wigglytuff," Chatot begged, "I want to go. I _have_ to go. You understand, don't you?"

After a moment, Wigglytuff nodded reluctantly. "I get it. Okay, Chatot, you can go, but please be careful."

"Thank you!" Chatot's eyes took on a fiercely determined look. "I promise, I won't let you down!"

"Then I'll be off, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff pulled Chatot up in a quick hug, then let him go and skipped over to the ladder. "Lead the guild well while I'm gone!"

"I will!" Chatot called after him, watching him go. He then got to the task of picking up all the papers of notes he'd tossed up into the air. He flipped through the pages, then carried them over to Wigglytuff's office in his talons. He pulled out a quill and dipped it in the small ink bottle that was still left on the floor from that night, and began making revisions.

_Loudred and Diglett will have to be split up as neither has a water resistance, but I cannot put Loudred with Sunflora or the gang will hear them from miles away... Lucky and Perry are too spastic to stay in a pair, so I'll split them like – drat, that means I'll have to move him over here..._

The realization that Chatot would have to start all over slowly sank into his mind but he didn't pay any attention to it until the paper was black with ink. After a moment of staring at the scribbled out mess, he squawked in frustration. Then, for good measure, he threw the paper up in the air again.

* * *

The day seemed to drag on forever. Julia and Flame took two job requests for the same dungeon and completed them within hours. They returned to Treasure Town to sort out their items with Kangaskhan and buy new items at the kecleon brothers' shop, then took a break at the top of Sharpedo Bluff for a snack of berries. For Julia, the silence while they ate seemed prolonged and awkward, but it didn't look like Flame felt the same way, as he ate with a contented expression on his face.

_I don't like this at all,_ Julia though as she took a slow bite of her cheri berry. _Flame's acting as if nothing between us has changed, but he's told me that I should forget about him... What's gotten into him?!_

"I wonder how the pelippers are doing," Flame commented as a mail pelipper flew overhead, carrying a large brown satchel about its body. "Do you think they'll find out Lucky and Perry are here?"

"They might," Julia mumbled.

"You still don't trust the brothers, do you?" Flame asked her, glancing back at her. "Why not?"

Biting back the reply of 'Because they want to destroy the things that are keeping time flowing, doy', she said, "I just can't believe that they came back to the past without the intention of completing their goal of destroying the time gears. They have to be really determined to come back here where they're essentially everyone's enemy."

"That's why I think they're really here to help us," insisted Flame. "They have the pelippers _and_ Grovyle after them, and us if they did anything dumb. They must have realized that they're outnumbered and it's better to help us at least succeed. At least, that's what I think. Maybe they're just doing it because we're their friends."

Julia ducked her head, looking away from Flame. "Maybe," she murmured. It sounded unlikely, but she kind of wanted to believe it. She _didn't_ want to think of the brothers as her enemies. It was, in fact, harder for her to believe that they really wanted to destroy the time gears. It seemed like too much of a cookie-cutter villain role. What motive did they have besides destroying the world or sheer insanity? But they neither seemed nihilistic nor insane to Julia.

The rest of the day was spent wandering about Treasure Town and talking with their fellow guild members. Corphish eagerly told Flame and Julia about his brilliant theories about what the Hidden Land was like and whether it would be in the air or under the sea, and what kind of pokémon lived there, and how impossible it would be to get through the mystery dungeons, and at that point Flame and Julia simply walked away to leave him rambling on to no one. Sunflora and Loudred actually managed to have a conversation with them without breaking into an argument, though they did sometimes make snarky responses to each other. The rumour that Grovyle had by now collected all the time gears reached their ears, and Julia felt a bit of relief, even though the very mention of Grovyle's name caused Flame to flinch.

_Now all that's left is to take the relic fragment to Brine Cave,_ she thought apprehensively.

After what felt like eons, the sun began to set and everyone returned to the guild. Chatot explained to them when they returned that Wigglytuff was out on an errand, leaving him in charge in the mean time. Julia thought Chatot seemed a little skittish without the pink pokémon standing silently behind him.

Julia lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. The light of the moon shone brightly into her room and she felt cold without Flame sleeping right next to her. Once again, he was on the far end of the bed. How long would it be, Julia wondered, until he separated their beds again?

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She sat up, then walked over to the doorway. Stealing one last glance back, she walked away down the hallway and into the crew room.

Chatot was perched on his normal spot on the top rung of the second ladder, but his head was buried under his wing and his back rose and fell as he breathed the deep breaths of sleep. Julia crept past him and, carefully lifting the gate of woven branches that was always lowered over the guild entrance for the night, ducked under and walked away in the direction of the beach.

The krabbies that came out to blow bubbles each evening were absent, asleep someplace or scuttling about under the water. The only sound Julia could hear as she stepped out onto the sand was that of the waves gently lapping against the shore. Above the ocean was the bright, rounded moon, casting its reflection onto the distant waves. She sat down heavily on the sand and stared over the water.

"Couldn't sleep, either?"

The voice behind Julia startled her. "F-Flame?" she squeaked. "What are you doing here?"

The cyndaquil walked over to her, looking up at the moon. "I followed you out. I was restless, too. Um, can I sit next to you?"

"Sure."

Flame sat down beside Julia, almost close enough to brush pelts with her. A moon or so ago, Julia's heartbeat would quicken and she'd lean against him slightly, enjoying the warmth of his body. Now, she felt nothing but longing for that feeling.

"Do you miss sleeping with me, paw-in-paw?" Julia asked him quietly, looking back at the water.

Flame was silent for a moment. "...Yeah," he admitted. "You must hate me for what I'm doing, don't you?"

"No. I think you're being stupid, but I don't hate you."

"This is really hard on me, too, you know."

"What?" Julia turned her head to glare at him. "Pretending that we're nothing more than friends for no reason?"

Flame sighed. "Accepting that we're from different worlds. You know..." He smiled sadly up at her. "...in the time period you're from, I'm already long dead. Somewhere along the lineage, I might actually be related to you."

Having no response for that, Julia looked up at the moon, trying to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat.

"Grovyle is from your time period, Julia. I'm a living artifact from the past. How am I ever supposed to match up with him?"

"I don't truly love him," Julia growled softly, but it sounded more like a pleading whimper than a growl. "I don't feel anything for him but nostalgia. I don't even remember him."

"But suppose, after all of this is over, he goes back to the future and you never see him again, then your memories come back? They're already on the verge of doing so. What if you're left with regrets, just because you thought you loved me?"

Julia felt a shudder run through her body, like a sob that wasn't full-grown yet. She began to move her tail to put it around Flame's shoulders, then stopped and lowered it again. His words had struck home with her. All she could think of was how distant and inconsequential Flame seemed when she had been near to Grovyle that one evening. She suddenly felt alien. This wasn't her home. Her home was somewhere, hundreds of years in the future, whether she remembered it or not. And she felt an odd pull to it, like a magnet drawing her near.

"I get it, Flame," she murmured at last. "You're...you're right." _What am I doing?_ "Once we've saved Temporal Tower..." _Is this how it feels to give up?_ "...I'll return to the future with Grovyle." _This isn't right._

Flame nodded reluctantly, his eyes trained on the sand. _I shouldn't be giving up._ "Then...I guess this is our final adventure together, huh?" _Not me. Not like this._

"Yeah. I guess so." _Not on Flame._

Flame stood up and shook off the sand that clung to his fur, then smiled bitterly at Julia. _Stop him, Julia!_ "I'm going back to the guild now." _Stand up and grab his paw!_ "I'll see you in the morning." _Tell him that you're wrong!_

"See you." _Tell him that you love him!_ "Sleep well, Flame."

Flame turned away slowly and walked back up the path towards the guild. Julia sighed and looked out over the sea again. It was over. She and Flame were no longer mates.

A dark spot, far away on the waters, appeared in the sea illuminated by the moon's light. Julia squinted out at it, trying to make it out. From where she was, it looked like a moving rock. It looked like there were two more dark specks above it, but she couldn't tell if they were material or just part of the waves. Eventually, however many specks there were vanished into the cover of the darker water on the other side of the moonbeam. Julia stood up and looked up the path where Flame had left, but the cyndaquil was long gone. A part of her was full of deep regret, but the overwhelming emotion was acceptance. Acceptance that they were no longer together, and that maybe they never should have been.

* * *

"Now, pokémon, listen well!" Chatot squawked, flapping his wings to get everyone's attention. Behind him was the gaping maw of the entrance to Brine Cave, water droplets falling from stalactites to the damp, reddish-brown stone below. Julia could sense Flame shuddering beside her, and she couldn't blame him. She could already imagine all of the water types inside, ready to swarm them.

"I have already told you what groups you are in, so if you have not yet moved to stand with your partners, please do so now!" He glanced back over his shoulder as if expecting Wigglytuff to be standing there. But the Guildmaster had not returned last night and was still absent. "As I had said before we left, the goal is to reach the end of the dungeon, where the pattern can be found, and learn what its connection with both Flame's relic fragment and the Hidden Land is. Wait until everyone has congregated there before taking any further courses of action. As well, please keep a wary eye out for the gang. From what I could gather when I came to, they are three water type pokémon – a pair of omastars let by a kabutops. There is no guarantee that you will run into them, nor that they even still remain there, but be prepared in case you run into them. There is no shame in running from battle if they prove to be too much for you."

Flame quivered again. When Chatot had announced that morning that Julia and Flame were to be in a group along with Chatot, Julia had at first felt disappointment. There was tension between the two of them since last night, and though Flame had gone back to acting cheerful around her, she knew it was a front.

But now, seeing Flame as he was, Julia was glad she was paired with him. No matter what happened, they were still friends, and she wanted to be the one to protect him in the dungeon.

"Go ahead and enter when you feel you are ready!" Chatot finished. Nobody moved for a moment, then Loudred marched forwards boldly, grinning.

"Come on, guys," he said, "let's be the FIRST group to get to the end!"

"Hey, hey, good idea!" Corphish joined in. "Let's go in!"

Perry flew after the two of them, shooting a quick, nervous glance back at Lucky, who just grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Eek! There's no way I'm getting left behind!" Sunflora motioned with her leaf-hand to her teammates. "We're going in, too!"

"As long as it is we who slaughter water types and not us who are slaughtered," Dugtrio said gravely. His son had decided to stay behind, partly out of fear and partly out of having other duties to attend to.

"Wow, you're dark," said Lucky with a snicker, following them in. Chimecho, the fourth member of their group, floated along behind them.

Chatot watched them leave, then turned to Flame and Julia. "Now that the others have gone in, are you prepared to join them?"

Flame nodded quickly. "Y-yeah. Totally."

Before Julia could respond, she suddenly felt a shiver go up her back. She had a strong feeling of being watched. She turned around and looked about, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Well, are you coming?" Chatot pressed. Julia turned back to him and nodded, feeling wary.

"Yes, I'm coming."

Chatot waved a wing to her and she took the lead. Inside, Brine Cave was dark, musty, and damp. The uneven ground was covered in pebbles and filled with pools of water. She could hear Flame trying to pick his way around the puddles behind her, and cursing whenever his foot slipped into one.

Just as she had expected, Brine Cave was full of water type pokémon. Many were easy to knock out, like seels and omanytes, but others, like gastrodon, were more difficult. Chatot, contrary to Julia's expectations, did very little to help. For the most part, all he did was scold Julia if she attacked poorly or didn't notice a pokémon sneaking up from behind. It got on Julia's nerves – she was doing most of the work and all he did was complain.

From time to time, she again felt as if she were being watched, but she tried to convince herself that it was just another rogue kingler lurking in the shadows. At the mouth of the cave, she had felt a chill, but the deeper they went, the warmer it got.

"Hey, Chatot," Flame began when they had reached a cavern where no wild pokémon could be seen, "can you tell if we're anywhere near the place where you saw the pattern?"

Chatot fluffed up his feathers, looking about. "I suppose we're a bit closer, but we still have a ways to go. However, I must admit that we've been making good time. Perhaps we should stop to rest for a bit to allow the other groups to catch up."

"They might already be ahead of us," Julia pointed out. "We'd be waiting here for nothing."

Scoffing, Chatot squawked, "Of course they aren't! After all, _I'm_ in this team! As if I would allow my trainees to get ahead of me!"

_I've been leading the whole way, you dumb bird,_ Julia thought, glowering.

At that moment, a trio of violet shapes burst out from where they had been hidden behind a rock and slammed into both Julia and Flame, knocking them over. Flame's relic fragment tumbled out of his bag and fell onto the floor with a splash.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you two runts there!" chuckled a silky voice. Julia looked up and her eyes widened. Skuntank stood before them with one paw placed upon the relic fragment. Beside her, Zubat and Koffing hovered menacingly, smirking.

"Team Skull!" Flame exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

Skuntank turned over the stone, gazing down at it thoughtfully. "I overheard that your guild decided to go on another expedition, and we decided to join in on the fun. After all, what kind of expedition would you have without dear old us?" She kicked the relic fragment over to Koffing, who lifted it up in his fumes.

"Give that back!" Julia yelled indignantly. Chatot looked from Julia to Skuntank, looking confused.

"Team Skull?" he asked, hopping forwards. "You're that team that helped us before on our expedition to Foggy Forest. Actually, you disappeared halfway through, didn't you? And nobody had seen you since."

_That's not true,_ Julia thought, growling. _They led Diglett and I out into danger and messed up the mission Flame and I had to get perfect apples for Wigglytuff!_

Chuckling some more, Skuntank raised an eyebrow at Chatot. "You're really such an oblivious retard that you still believe we were there to assist you, aren't you? It's pitiful that you're leading a full guild of promising runts to be dumbasses like yourself! Chaw haw haw!"

Chatot narrowed his eyes at them. "And your language appears to be much coarser than in our last encounter! What's going on?"

"They tricked you!" Julia finally burst out, standing up but wincing as she felt painful spots on her body where she had landed on the uneven ground. "They only came with us to Foggy Forest because they wanted the treasure of Fogbound Lake! And they're the reason we failed to get a perfect apple for Wigglytuff that time!"

"Team Skull is just a bunch of crooks!" Flame put in.

Chatot, looking bewildered, whirled on Skuntank. "Is this true?" he demanded, bristling.

"Wasn't it obvious, birdo?" Koffing and Zubat had lapsing into condescending laughter while Skuntank showed her fangs in a grin. "Of course we never had any intention of helping you pathetic fools. And you were far too gullible to notice!"

"Now that we've got the relic fragment," Zubat said, "I think we'll go to the Hidden Land ourselves!"

"Yeah, I bet it's laden with all sorts of treasures!" added Koffing.

"I don't think there's even any need to spray you." Skuntank ambled around a shell-shocked Chatot, waving her bushy tail at him as Koffing flew down to put the relic fragment into her bag. "You're already paralyzed by utter shock. In that case, I'll see you three later – or not!" Laughing, she left down a passage and vanished, Koffing and Zubat in close pursuit.

Julia clenched her fists then turned to Flame. "We have to – "

"Play me for a fool, will they?" Chatot's low, shaky voice interrupted Julia. He was trembling, his face contorted in a look of fury. "Those bastards deserve to be taught a lesson about what it means to mess with me!" He took flight and quickly flew after them.

Julia exchanged a glance with Flame. "I...don't think I've ever heard him swear before," she murmured in awe.

"We'd better go after him," Flame said. "That gang is still lurking about, and he's probably way too mad right now to be able to fight back well if they appeared."

"Right," Julia agreed, nodding, then led the way down the passage the others took. With Flame running behind her, it almost felt like nothing had changed between them. But she still felt a measured distance that she and Flame were keeping from each other. What bothered her most was how little it bothered her.

* * *

Chatot looked around in the mystery dungeon for any sign of Skuntank and her team, but it looked like they had already gone ahead and vanished. He took to the air and manoeuvred through the caverns with as much agility as he was capable of. The few wild pokémon that blocked his way he took out quickly with a powerful slash from his wings or talons. He couldn't remember ever feeling this livid.

_It's no news to me that I'm rather gullible, but that I didn't realize that Team Skull was using us is simply disgraceful! When Wigglytuff ran off that one time in Foggy Forest with his perfect apple, he was most likely going after them to make sure they didn't try anything! Wigglytuff knew, and he didn't even tell me?! What am I to him that he wouldn't tell me about an enemy?!_

Tears of either hurt or rage stung Chatot's face but at the speed he was going, they dried up quickly. All of his attention was now on locating Team Skull.

But after quite a while of flying about, he realized he was lost. The dark caverns and tunnels seemed to press in on him, and with the heat of the cave, he was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

_Come on, Chatot, you've gone through worse than this!_ he goaded himself. _Now, all that I need to do is find my way through this dungeon and I can finally tell them off, once and for all!_

He landed down and began to traverse the dungeon by hopping along. It was more time-consuming and it meant he got into more battles, but it was all the same to him. All he cared about now was finding Team Skull.

Eventually, the dark caverns gave way to a more open, slightly brighter space. Panting from both tiredness and the heat, Chatot looked around until he spotted three bodies lying on the ground further in the cave. The flame of fury reignited itself within him and he flew over quickly.

He noticed right away that Skuntank and her underlings looked quite a bit more mangled than the last time he had seen them. They were covered in scratches, some larger and more severe, and were bleeding badly. Skuntank half-opened her eyes when Chatot arrived, but made no further effort to look at him.

"There you three are!" Chatot squawked, feeling no remorse for them. "You've kept well ahead of me, but now I've caught up! Prepare to pay your dues!"

"Fuck off, bird," Skuntank croaked. "Can't you see the state we're in? Leave us alone to die in peace."

Chatot let out a laugh at that. "Not so high-and-mighty now that you've gotten a few bruises, are you? You've hardly been touched, and here you are, moaning about dying! What pitiful little BASTARDS you are now!"

With a gigantic effort, Skuntank lifted her head and growled at him. "What kind of honourable pokémon are you to be making fun of us when we're on our deathbeds?"

"What kind of pokémon am _I_?!" Chatot echoed. "What kind of pokémon are _you_ to harm members of the guild for your own greedy intents?! You are loathsome, pathetic little shite-stains who foul the room, even without your dastardly stench!"

Now Zubat stirred, his mouth open in shock as he listened to Chatot. Skuntank dropped her head but spat, "Get over here, fuckface! Say all that to my _face_!"

Without hesitation, Chatot flew over and landed in front of her nose. "That's absolutely correct!" he squawked menacingly. "You three are nothing but self-centred, greedy, repulsive buggers! Oh, what's the matter, Skuntank?" he added when she did nothing but gnash her teeth. "Are you just too exhausted to even move your paw to attack me? Did that attack upon you make you tired?"

"You..." Skuntank growled lowly, but still didn't move. Her eyes, which had looked dull before, were now vivid and enraged.

"You're weak, aren't you?" Chatot continued. "Your only power comes in your lies and sweet talk, but once you're stripped, you're nothing but wet paper! Isn't that right?"

"B-boss," Koffing managed from where he lay, deflated, "are you...going to let him...talk to you...like this?"

"I can't retaliate," she responded. "I was beaten too badly to even move. But this cheeky bastard..." She turned her full attention back to Chatot, her nostrils flared. "I'm giving you one last chance to piss off. Yelling at us isn't going to change anything. We have no hope, and we're gonna die here. If you don't shut your bird seed-hole right now, I'll – "

"You'll _what_? Tell me to trust you again? Ask to come on our next expedition?" Chatot looked her right in the eye. "You've proven yourselves to be completely untrustworthy villains! You're greedy enough to kill each other over a coin of Poké! Have you ever even considered doing a good deed in your life? Oh, do you even know the meaning of 'good deed'? Or 'good'? Of course not! You're not even a good exploration team! You don't qualify as 'decent'! All that you're good at is making other people feel like idiots! Well, who's the idiot now? The one who is now standing over you, or the one who is laying on the ground, more pathetic than a magikarp out-of-water?"

Guilt began to creep in as Chatot continued screeching at Skuntank. He was incredibly satisfied to see her eyes light up with fury, but he also began to feel like he was taking it too far. Eventually, he hopped away from her face, in the opposite direction as the one in which he came, and squawked, "You three are the saddest sots I have ever seen! You're lying there, unable to do anything but glare at me, when you could have been journeying through this cave as members of the Wigglytuff Guild! But you had to let your greed get in the way and you've ended up continuing to lead the same, friendless life that I'm certain you always have! Have fun watching the other guild members walk past you, giving no sign that they saw you besides a disgusted wrinkle of the nose!"

Feeling he had delivered a powerful closing statement, he hopped along until he could no longer hear Skuntank's shouted threats.

Then, he stopped as something occurred to him. Skuntank and the others had been badly beaten up, to the point of them not being able to move. Whoever had done it had to still be near.

_Who had done it?_ he wondered briefly, frowning. Then, as if he himself had been struck, he realized.

* * *

"Chatot..." Julia called out weakly, panting. "...wait up..."

She and Flame had just barely made it out of the deepest part of the cave and they were both nearly exhausted enough to faint. Two monster houses and a slew of powerful water type pokémon had left them both spent. This was the part of the mystery dungeon where they really could have used Chatot's help.

"I don't see him anywhere," Flame said with a heavy sigh, looking around the cave. "And it's so hot here... It almost feels like we're back in Steam Cave again..."

Julia's ear perked up at the sound of a voice and she nudged Flame. "I think I hear someone!" she told him eagerly. "Come on, let's check it out!"

She led Flame over in the direction of the voice, then halted suddenly. The three members of Team Skull lay sprawled out on the ground; Skuntank was cussing to herself for some reason.

"Team Skull?" Julia asked in shock, noticing their deep scratches. "Are you okay? What happened to you?!"

"Don't pretend to be concerned about our bloody carcasses," muttered Skuntank, groaning. "We were jumped by some thugs, that's all."

Julia glanced at Flame, and it looked like he was thinking the same thing as her. "So that gang Chatot mentioned is still in here, after all."

"Chatot?" Skuntank practically spat out his name. "That bastard flew in here and began yelling at us, using some very...choice words." She snarled furiously. "He was lecturing us about how we were supposed to act and telling us how pathetic we were!"

_Wow. Chatot must have gotten really upset that he had been tricked by Team Skull,_ Julia realized.

Skuntank's anger seemed to fade a bit and she chuckled. "But it's kind of funny. Before he flew in here, we were lying here like dead rugs, waiting 'til death took us... But he riled me up so much, with all of his taunting! I can't let myself die now until I can properly pay that bastard back!"

"You're hurt, though," Flame said, staring at them nervously. "Are you going to be okay?"

She snorted, giving him a look. "Why are you concerned about us? We hate you, and I'll guess that you hate us back."

"We don't like what you do," Flame began, "but we can't just stand by idly if you're hurt this badly!"

After staring at Flame for a while, Skuntank weakly reached a paw into her bag and pulled out the relic fragment, then shoved it so that it tumbled towards him and Julia. "Oh, no, I dropped the relic fragment thing," she said in mock panic. "But I'm still too weak to get up and grab it. Flame will be able to take it back."

"Skuntank..." Flame murmured, his voice full of emotion.

"You can pick it up if you want to, or leave it there," Skuntank muttered. "It's your choice. I didn't really do anything either way."

"Thank you, Skuntank," Julia said quietly as Flame went to pick up the relic fragment. As she and Flame walked away, further into the dungeon, she felt unexpectedly warm.

_She never liked us, and we never did anything for her, but she gave us back the relic fragment._ Julia smiled faintly. _Maybe she isn't such a bad guy, after all._

Behind her, she could just make out Koffing and Zubat laughing at Skuntank, though their laughs sounded weak; she didn't know whether it was her imagination or not, but their laughter sounded less jeering and more playful.

Flame and Julia didn't have to walk far to find Chatot. He was standing in the middle of another, larger cavern, and he was scanning the walls, looking urgent.

"You two!" he addressed in a hiss. "They're here!"

"Y-you mean, the gang?" Flame asked nervously. Chatot glanced back and nodded to him.

"Be on your guard! They could appear from anywhere! When Wigglytuff and I first encountered them, it was as if they had appeared out of thin air!"

Julia mind spun as she remembered Team Skull's scratches. "But I don't see them anywhere..." Then she noticed that Chatot was looking straight up. She followed his gaze and her ears suddenly drooped. High above on the ceiling was a kabutops clinging upside-down to the roof of the cave, two omastars clinging on beside him.

"Look out!" Chatot squawked panickedly.

A moment later, all three jumped down at once, landing neatly in front of Flame and Julia. Flame yelped in terror and jumped backwards.

"I am Kabutops!" yelled the kabutops, raising one clawed arm.

"And we are the omastar brothers!" added one of the omastars.

"This is our gang's territory," Kabutops said, "and any trespassers will pay a hefty fee!" Without warning, his arm slashed down towards them like the blade of a guillotine.

Suddenly, something shoved Julia back, sending her sprawling on the floor. At almost the same moment, an ear-splitting screech filled the air.

Julia hopped to her paws right away but all of her adrenaline drained in an instant. Flame stood beside her, apparently also having been shoved back. Before them was Chatot, sprawled out on the ground. A pool of blood began to spread out from under him.

"Ch-Chatot!" Julia yelled, rushing over to his side. The bird was twitching and his breath was shallow. Kabutops took a step back, looking at him curiously.

"What a foolish pokémon," he commented. "He jumped right in the way of my attack."

"He saved us!" Flame spat at him, trying to help Chatot up. Chatot turned his head painfully to look at him.

"Don't worry...about me... Fight Kabutops' gang...and finish it..." Flame set him down, trembling.

"How could you do this to him?!" he yelled at Kabutops. "He was trying to protect us!"

Kabutops then raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I remember you, chatot. What was it, two or three years ago, or was it longer, when you and that pink puff came in here? You did the same thing then – jumping in the way of my blade in the name of 'protecting' your friend. It was stupid enough the first time, but a second time? That's just pathetic."

Chatot glared up at Kabutops, his eyes fiercely protective. "I won't...let you...harm...my students!" The effort proved to be too much for him and he blacked out, going limp.

Kabutops kept his calculating gaze on Chatot for a moment longer, then turned it to Flame and Julia. "One fool down, two to go." He grinned, then charged the pair with unprecedented speed. Julia just barely managed to hop out of the way of his blades and shot a bolt of electricity at him. It struck, but before she could do a follow-up attack, she was slammed from behind by one of the omastars. As she tried to shock it, she could hear Flame screeching in pain.

_If Wigglytuff and Chatot were hardly a match for these guys, how are we supposed to win?!_

Julia discharged as much electricity as she could, which caused the omastar to release her from his tentacled grip, and kicked him off her to rush to Flame's side. He was hunched over, sopping wet and bleeding from a gash on his side. The flames on his back where sputtering weakly.

"We need to get out of here!" he gasped out, his eyes wide with terror. Julia looked up at Kabutops, who was recovering from her discharge, and spotted the limp body of Chatot behind him. Feeling determination growing within her, she grabbed Flame's paw and brought him up to his paws.

"We can't leave Chatot here! If we run, there will have been no point to him shielding us!"

Flame opened his mouth to protest, then closed it and nodded. "You're right. We'll avenge him, no matter what!"

He let go of her paw and used Flame Wheel on one of the omastars to distract it while Julia charged up another electric attack. She quickly dodged a slashing attack from Kabutops, then blasted him with electricity. Her concentration was broken when she heard Flame cry out again, and the tip of Kaputops' claw connected with her shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound. Feeling dizzy, Julia stumbled backwards, only to be caught in a blast of water from the other omastar. She tried to release another electrical discharge but she was being pummelled so badly that it was taking all of her effort not to get hit in any vital areas of her body. Now she couldn't even hear Flame anymore.

_This can't be how it ends for us!_ she thought desperately. _Not when we were so close to finding the Hidden Land!_

Suddenly, a blue-and-black blur collided with the side of Kabutops' face, causing the water type pokémon to stumble backwards. Before Julia could figure out what was going on, two vines burst from the ground and began slashing at the omastar, and the other omastar yelled in alarm as the ground upheaved below him.

Then, her gaze landed on Sunflora, who was standing a little ways away from the battle. Her expression was one of concentration and Julia realized she was controlling the vines. Lucky was alternately punching and kicking Kabutops, the latter of whom looking dazed from the sudden attack. The other omastar was now being psychically hurled into walls by Chimecho. Flame, looking battered but amazed, dashed over to Julia's side.

"Our guildmates came to help us!" he cried out happily.

"You insolent fools!" Kabutops caught Lucky in the curve of his blade and threw him hard against the ground. "All you've done is make this battle more of an annoyance for us!" He whirled at Julia but she ducked and hit him with a bolt of electricity.

At that moment, an invisible blast struck Kabutops and he skittered back, crying out in agony with with claws over his ear holes. Perry flew down and battered at his head with his wings and Loudred, who had emitted the blast of extreme-frequency sound waves, moved on to the omastar Sunflora was attacking to give it a swift stomp to the shell. Corphish was driving the other omastar back, striking it with his sharpened pincers over and over again.

_Everyone's here! We're fighting off these thugs together!_

By this time, Kabutops was backing away further, his eyes wide with terror. "Run away!" he screeched. "Retreat!"

Sunflora let go of the omastar and all three gang members dashed away back into the depths of the dungeon. Julia was breathing hard by this time but she was filled with elated exhilaration.

"We did it!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah!" cheered Lucky as he got up from the ground. "Wow, that attack sent them packing, didn't it?"

"Eek! Look at Chatot!"

Everyone's attentions shifted to Chatot, who still lay on the ground, and they quickly surrounded him.

"Hey, hey, he's badly hurt!" Corphish yelped.

"Everyone, please step aside!"

Julia looked back to see the owner of the new voice and gasped when Wigglytuff entered the dungeon, led by Grovyle.

_He's back!_

"Grovyle?!" Sunflora cried out in alarm.

Loudred stepped over to her side, looking wary. "What's HE doing with the Guildmaster?!"

"I'll explain later!" Wigglytuff pushed his way into the crowd, which quickly parted for him. "But this is more important!" He ran over to Chatot and gently picked him up, cradling him in his arms. Julia's ears drooped when she saw the tears forming in Wigglytuff's eyes. For the Guildmaster to lose his lightheartedness...

"Chatot," Wigglytuff whimpered, "are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Chatot blearily opened his eyes and let out a weak chuckle. "I'm fine, Wigglytuff. I hardly feel any pain."

That didn't seem to reassure the Guildmaster. "I'm so sorry. If only I got here earlier, you wouldn't be..." He broke off in a sob.

"Please don't blame yourself, Wigglytuff." Blood dribbled down from Chatot's gaping wound, staining Wigglytuff's white belly fur red. "I'm just weak. I've always been too weak and useless to – "

"Don't say that!" wailed Wigglytuff. "That's not true! When we were in Brine Cave all those years ago, I was in a bad position. If I'd been hit, I would've gone down immediately." He hugged Chatot closer to himself. "But you took the hit for me. I owe my life to you!"

"Is that...what happened?" Chatot's glazed-over eyes tried to focus on Wigglytuff's face. Wigglytuff closed his eyes, trying to hold back another sob. His face was wet with tears.

Something suddenly occurred to Julia, a thought so horrible that her breath caught in her throat. The bird pokémon was bleeding out too quickly and Wigglytuff wasn't urgent enough about healing him...unless he couldn't be healed. He would never recover...and Wigglytuff knew it.

"You're not useless, Chatot," Wigglytuff murmured, looking back down at Chatot. "You're...you're my invaluable partner." His voice cracked. "My best friend."

It seemed to take all of Chatot's effort to smile weakly at Wigglytuff. "I'm privileged to hear such words...Wigglytuff." Tears trickled down his own cheeks. "I'm...such a happy pokémon..." Then his head fell back against Wigglytuff's arm. His body went limp.

Wigglytuff sank to the ground, still hugging Chatot tightly, and lapsed into ragged sobs. The whole of the guild was silent. Julia felt tears forming in her eyes and looked down at Flame. His eyes were closed but his body shook as he cried silently. After a moment, she put a paw around his shoulders. He hugged her, burying his face into her chest fur.

"Julia, Flame, come." Grovyle's usually firm voice was soft, and he had a distant, sad look in his eyes that didn't fade even when he noticed Lucky and Perry, their heads bowed in mourning.

"But..." Julia began to protest.

To her surprise, it was Wigglytuff who said, "No, go with Grovyle." He gently closed Chatot's eyes with a paw, then looked up at them. "Please...go. If you don't..." He let out another muffled sob. "...Chatot's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

Reluctantly, Julia took Flame's paw and led him over to Grovyle. Lucky and Perry followed quietly. Julia didn't look back, but she didn't have to. She could hear the haunting sound of Wigglytuff crying until they had left the cavern.

They emerged into another cavern. Here, it was lighter, as if there was some source of natural light nearby. Julia looked around, but she couldn't see anything except for another passageway from which the light was emanating. Grovyle had stopped walking and he now turned around. His face was placid, with no signs to show that he had cried at all. It didn't surprise Julia – he had likely seen many deaths in the future, perhaps some more heartwrenching.

The bag around his waist was glowing, like it had been when Julia first met him. All five of the time gears would be in there, she knew. Now all that was left to do was put them in Temporal Tower.

"Why are we stopped?" Flame asked, wiping at his eyes. Grovyle said nothing at first, only looking past Flame and Julia. Julia glanced back to see Lucky and Perry, who had walked with them all this way.

"Julia," he finally said in a low growl, "I presume you have a good explanation of why those two are here?"

Julia stared up into his golden eyes, lost for words. He expected _her_ to tell him why she and Flame had decided to trust the brothers?

_It makes sense that he's asking me, since I was his partner, but I don't have any good reason! I don't know if I even trust them yet myself!_

"They're good kids," she said quietly. "They said they wanted to help us in the Hidden Land, and that they're outnumbered by us anyways, so..."

Even to her, it sounded more like an excuse than a reason. Grovyle narrowed his eyes. "You trust the word of two children more than the words of Celebi?"

"Well, I know them!" she protested. "I saw Celebi for about an hour! Of course I trust them more than her!"

Beside her, Flame let out a sigh, though Julia couldn't tell whether it was a sigh of relief or of remembering that she, in the past, would have known Celebi.

"You two," Grovyle addressed the brothers sternly. "I would like to hear, in your own words, why you're here."

"It's just what Julia said," Lucky began. "We don't know what the Hidden Land is like in this time period, but if it's anywhere near what it's like in the future, then it'll be really dangerous." He scuffed his foot. "They're our friends here...and, well, that's about it in terms of friends." He laughed lightly, rubbing his neck. "If we did anything stupid, you'd make us into kebabs before I could say 'wow', and if the pelippers even saw us, well, they'd kill us, too. There's, like, pretty much no hope of us ever completing our goal, so we gave up. We're helping you guys instead, now."

Grovyle looked from Lucky to Julia, then turned away. "I won't lie. This task is no easy one. We have yet to see Dusknoir, who most certainly will still try to stop us, and with the unknown dangers the Hidden Land may present us with, we need all the help we can get. Lucky, Perry...are you afraid of changing the past to better the future?"

"You kidding?" Lucky asked with a grin. "I'd give my life for that! The future sucks!"

"Good." Grovyle continued down the path, towards the bright tunnel. "Then you may come with us. Julia, Flame, please keep an eye on them."

The four walked after Grovyle quietly, though Lucky had a spring in his step. That Lucky was cheerful again bothered Julia; although Grovyle had deliberately steered their thoughts away from Chatot, she couldn't help thinking about him and how Wigglytuff had tried to reassure him of his worth in his last moments. Lucky shouldn't be acting like it didn't happen. He should feel as much sadness as she.

But before she could say anything to him, the five emerged into a smaller cavern. The rocky ground gave way to sea water, and a large opening led out to the ocean. The light of a sun on its way to set illuminated the cave through its opening. Flame's eyes glimmered and he rushed to the water's edge.

"Look, it's the sea!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think Brine Cave would be connected to the outside!"

"It is," Grovyle said simply. He wasn't looking at the sea. He was looking at the wall opposite, which was tall and flat. Julia glanced over at it and did a double-take. The entirety of the wall was covered in an ornate circular pattern drawn with white lines.

"Wow, that's cool!" said Lucky, running up to the wall and touching it with his paw. "Hey, Perry, Flame, check this out!"

Flame looked over, then gasped. "Th-that's the pattern on my relic fragment!" He pulled his smaller stone from his bag and visually compared them. "This is amazing!"

"Try setting that down, Flame," Grovyle suggested. "Something should happen."

Obliging, Flame put the stone down in front of the pattern. Suddenly, the lines of the wall's pattern began to glow with a pulsating blue light. The relic fragment started glowing, as well, pulsating in rhythm with the wall. Then, from the centre of the wall, a silvery-white line of light shot out of the cave, shining far across the sea. It remained for a moment, then dissipated.

"What just happened?" Flame asked, staring out of the cave. "Did it – "

"Be patient, please." Grovyle was also watching the ocean. Julia did the same, then noticed something appearing in the distance. A small black speck had appeared and was growing larger as it approached them.

_Is that the same thing I saw last night?_ Julia wondered, squinting. _What is that?_

The two smaller dots she had seen also appeared, bobbing on the air as they came near.

"Oh..." Julia glanced back at Lucky, who had also been looking and was now backing away. His back touched the wall and he pressed against it, as if hoping he would melt into it. "Oh, no..."

Perry was also backing away, his eyes wide in apparent fear. "It's them," he whispered.

When Julia looked back at the dots in confusion, she realized they had gotten close enough for her to make them out. The large one was a lapras, who was gliding along in the water. The other two were bird pokémon of some sort, beating their wings powerfully as they flew. They were two pelippers, but judging by Lucky's and Perry's reactions, they weren't just any two random pelippers. Those two were the pelippers who had come to the past to kill Lucky and Perry, and they were about to come face-to-face with them.


End file.
